ML110960273

Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute Reactor 2010 Annual Operating Report

ML110960273
Person / Time
Site:	Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute
Issue date:	03/30/2011
From:	Miller S US Dept of Defense, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
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Download: ML110960273 (13)

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f36CKf 5-0-170' 7F(/4 SPEC-s ARMED FORCES RADIOBIOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE 8901 WISCONSIN AVENUE BITHEMDA, MARYLAND 20889-5603 March 30, 2011 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555-0001 Sir:

Enclosed is the 2010 Annual Operating Report required by the technical specifications for the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute reactor (license R-84, docket 50-170).

Should you need any further information, please contact me at (301) 295-9245.

Enclosure:

STEPHEN I. MILLER as Reactor Facility Director cc:

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission AT-FN: Al Adams, NRR/DPRIPRLB Mail Stop 12-D3 Washington, DC 20555-0001

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Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute AFRRI TRIGA Reactor Facility 1 January 2010 - 31 December 2010 To satisfy the requirements of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission License No. R-84 (Docket No. 50-170),

Technical Specification 6.6.b.

Prepared by Harry H. Spence Reactor Operations Supervisor Submitted by Stephen I. Miller Reactor Facility Director Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute 8901 Wisconsin Avenue Bethesda, MD 20889-5603 Telephone: (301) 295-1290

Submission of 2010 Annual Report I declare under penalty of perjury that this report is true and correct.

MAR 3 0 2011 STEPHEN I. MILLER Date Reactor Facility Director

2010 ANNUAL REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction General Information Section I Changes in the Facility Design, Performance Characteristics, Administrative Procedures, Operational Procedures, Results of Surveillance Tests and InspectionsSection II Energy Generated by the Reactor Core and the Number of Pulses $2.00 or Larger Section III Unscheduled ShutdownsSection IV Safety-Related Corrective Maintenance Section V Facility and Procedure Changes as Described in the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR),

New Experiments or Tests Performed During the Year Section VI Summary of Radioactive Effluent Released Section VII Environmental Radiological SurveysSection VIII Exposures Greater Than 25% of 10 CFR 20 Limits

2010 ANNUAL REPORT INTRODUCTION The Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) reactor facility was available for irradiation services throughout the year except for one nonoperational period of approximately two months during the annual reactor maintenance shutdown.

There were no major reactor modifications or projects during the year. There were no unplanned shutdowns during 2010.

The 2010 annual reactor audit required by the reactor technical specifications was conducted by Dr. Steven Reese in December 2010. Dr. Reese is the Director of the Oregon State University TRIGA reactor facility. During the audit he verbally indicated that he had not found any major discrepancies in react6r operations and those conclusions are reflected in his written report.

Comprehensive NRC inspections of reactor facility operations were conducted by Mr.

Patrick Isaac during January and July 2010. While he had several recommendations for improving reactor operations, no safety concerns or noncompliance with NRC requirements were identified.

There were no RRFSS membership changes during the year. There were no reactor staff arrivals and one staff departure during the year.

The remainder of this report is written in the format designated in the Technical Specifications for the AFRRI TRIGA Reactor Facility. Items not specifically required are presented in the General Information section. The following sections correspond to the required items listed in Section 6.6.b. of the Technical Specifications.

GENERAL INFORMATION All personnel held the listed positions throughout the year unless otherwise specified.

Key AFRRI personnel (as of 31 December 2010) are as follows:

1. AFRRI Director - Mark A. Melanson, COL, USA Radiation Sciences Department (RSD) Head - Stephen I. Miller Radiation Safety Officer - Anna M. J. Teachout 2 Reactor Facility Director and Facility Radiation Manager - Stephen I. Miller (SRO)

3. Reactor operations personnel:

Reactor Operations Supervisor - Harry H. Spence (SRO)

SRO Training Coordinator - Harry H. Spence (SRO)

ERT Training Coordinator - Joseph Hughes, SFC, USA (effective 14 August)

Michelle C. Desouza, SFC, USA (SRO) (through 13 August)

Maintenance Specialist - Walter D. Tomlinson (SRO)

Records Administration Specialist - Harry H. Spence (SRO)

4. Other Senior Reactor Operators - None

5. Operator candidates:

Ian Gifford Todd Hathaway, MAJ, USA Joseph Hughes, SFC, USA

6. Newly licensed operators:

None

7. Additions to staff during 2010:

None

8. Departures during 2010:

Michelle C. Desouza, SFC, USA (SRO through 13 August)

9. There were no changes to the Reactor and Radiation Facilities Safety Subcommittee (RRFSS) during 2010.

In accordance with the requirements set forth in Section 6.2.1.1. of the Technical

Specifications for the AFRRI TRIGA Reactor Facility, the RRFSS consisted of the following members as of 31 December 2010.

Regular members are:

Radiation Safety Officer - Anna M. J. Teachout Reactor Facility Director and Facility Radiation Manager - Stephen 1. Miller Reactor Operations Specialist - Dr. Seymour Weiss Health Physics Specialist - Joe Pawlovich Chairman and Director's Representative - Dr. Christopher Lissner Special nonvoting member - David Lake, Montgomery County Government (Department of Environmental Protection)

Recorder - Harry H. Spence Two meetings were held in 2010:

23 July 08 December

SECTION I Changes in the Facility Design, Performance Characteristics, Administrative Procedures, Operational Procedures, Results of Surveillance Tests and Inspections A summary of changes to the facility design, performance characteristics, administrative procedures, and operational procedures as well as the results of surveillance testing are provided in this section.

A. DESIGN CHANGES There were no design changes to the reactor facility during 2010.

B. PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS There were no changes to the performance characteristics of the core during 2010. All fuel, chambers, and the core experiment tube (CET) remained in place for operations throughout the year.

C. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES There were no changes to the Administrative Procedures during 2010.

D. OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES There were no changes to the Operational Procedures during 2010.

E. RESULTS OF SURVEILLANCE TESTS AND INSPECTIONS All maintenance and surveillance tasks during 2010 were accomplished as normally scheduled during the year.

Malfunctions are detailed in Section IV, Safety-Related Corrective Maintenance.

The 2010 annual reactor audit required by the reactor technical specifications was conducted by Dr. Steven Reese in December 2010. Dr. Reese is the Director of the Oregon State University TRIGA reactor facility. During the audit he verbally indicated that he had not found any major discrepancies in reactor operations and those conclusions are reflected in his written report.

Comprehensive NRC inspections of reactor facility operations were conducted by Mr.

Patrick Isaac during January and July 2010. While he had several recommendations for improving reactor operations, no safety concerns or noncompliance with NRC requirements were identified.

SECTION II Energy Generated by the Reactor Core and the Number of Pulses $2.00 or Larger Month Kilowatt Hours JAN 456.9 FEB 92.9 MAR 15078.3 APR 490.9 MAY 15247.9 JUN 32.5 JUL 54.3 AUG 239.8 SEP 301.0 OCT 1125.8 NOV 1051.0 DEC 35.4 TOTAL 34206.7 Total energy generated in 2010: 34,206.7 kWh Total energy on fuel elements: 1,115,305.3 kWh Total energy on FFCRs*: 382,507.6 kWh Total pulses this year > $2.00: 0 Total pulses on fuel elements > $2.00: 4,219 Total pulses on FFCRs* > $2.00: 107 Total pulses this year: 41 Total pulses on fuel elements: 12,136 Total pulses on FFCRs*: 2,371

• Fuel-followed control rods

SECTION III Unscheduled Shutdowns There were no unscheduled shutdowns during 2010.

SECTION IV Safety-Related Corrective Maintenance Following are excerpts from the malfunction logbook during the reporting period. The reason for the corrective actions taken, as in all cases, was to return the equipment to its proper operational status.

02 November 2010 - During the annual maintenance calibrations, it was noted that the cumulative rod indicator for the REG was correct; but the incremental rod position indicator was non-linear from approximately 400-600 units of withdrawal. Because of the nonlinearity, the rod worth curve could not be completed until repairs were completed. Linearity was verified for the three remaining rods. The total rod travel distance was 15.0 inches as required by reactor procedures and the measurement of total worth was not affected. An acceptable correlation coefficient for the curve fit could not be achieved, making it difficult to obtain an acceptable mathematical fit necessary to draw the rod curve and produce the rod worth table used throughout the year.

Because the total rod worth could be measured, the shutdown margin and excess reactivity of the core were known. The staff determined that the core excess reactivity could not have exceeded the TS-allowed $5.00 limited. In addition, since REG rod position is not used in pulsing operations, therefore pulse operations were not affected.

The indicated REG rod position was correct from 0-400 and from 600-995. The maximum error introduced by the malfunction was less than 15% of the rod worth between position 400 and position 600, and no error from 0-400 and 600-995. Excess measurements are generally executed at REG rod positions outside of the error range, so the malfunction had no effect on those measurements.

The correlation between rod position and incremental worth also does not affect the measurement or accuracy of reactor power level or fuel temperature. The RSD was notified and all rod calibrations and other annual maintenance shutdown activities were suspended until repairs were completed.

Solution: The rod position indicator potentiometer was determined to be non-linear for two rotations of travel. The part was replaced, and the drive placed back in service. The rod curves were then completed and the reactor annual shutdown maintenance completed.

SECTION V Facility and Procedure Changes as Described in the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR), New Experiments or Tests Performed During the Year A. FACILITY CHANGES AS DESCRIBED IN THE FSAR There were no facility changes as described in the FSAR during the year.

B. PROCEDURE

CHANGES AS DESCRIBED IN THE FSAR There were no changes to procedures as described in the FSAR.

C. NEW EXPERIMENTS OR TESTS No new experiments or tests were performed during the reporting period that were not encompassed by the FSAR.

There were no safety evaluations for changes not submitted to the NRC, pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 50.59.

SECTION VI Summary of Radioactive Effluent Released A. Liquid Waste: The reactor produced no liquid waste during 2010.

B. Gaseous Waste: There were no particulate discharges in 2010.

The total activity of Argon-41 discharged in 2010 was 1.22 curies. The estimated effluent concentration from the release of Argon-41 represents

<1% of the constraint limit for unrestricted areas (10 CFR 20.1101(d) and Table 2, Appendix B, 10 CFR 20).

Quarterly: Jan - Mar 2010 0.17 Ci Apr - Jun 2010 0.16 Ci Jul - Sep 2010 0.20 Ci Oct - Dec 2010 0.69 Ci C. Solid Waste: All solid radioactive waste material was transferred to the AFRRI byproduct license; none was disposed of under the R-84 reactor license.

SECTION VII Environmental Radiological Surveys All environmental sampling of soil and vegetation yielded radionuclide levels within the background range. The radionuclides that were detected were those expected from natural background and from long-term fallout from nuclear weapons testing.

The calculated annual dose, due to Argon-41 release to the environment for 2010, was 0.04 mRem at the location of maximum public exposure. The maximum exposure is calculated at a location 91 meters from the release point as described in the FSAR. Exposure to the general population at the boundary of the National Naval Medical Center is significantly less due to the diffusion of Argon4l in the atmosphere. The constraint limit for exposure to the public established under 10 CFR 20.1101(d) is 10 millirem per year. The exposure dose was calculated using COMPLY code, level 2, which is the most conservative level of COMPLY. Emissions due to reactor operations were <1% of the 10 millirem constraint limit, or 0.04 millirem for the entire year.

The reactor in-plant surveys, specified in Health Physics Procedure (HPP) 3-2, all resulted in readings that were less than the action levels specified in HPP 0-2.

SECTION VIII Exposures Greater than 25% of 10 CFR 20 Limits There were no doses to reactor staff personnel or reactor visitors greater than 25% of 10 CFR 20 occupational and public radiation dose limits.