ML20059N175

Annual Rept for License R-75 for Jul 1989 - June 1990

ML20059N175
Person / Time
Site:	Ohio State University
Issue date:	06/30/1990
From:	Redmond R OHIO STATE UNIV., COLUMBUS, OH
To:	NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM)
References
NUDOCS 9010100205
Download: ML20059N175 (11)

Text

o -

'i q m

=. .

A

, _, ,[ '

• T9 H;+ E . l Engineeria8Experiment Station 142 Hitchcock Hall j Wi .

2070 Neil Avenue Columbut OH 43210-127S '.

Phone 614-292-2411

' UNIVERSITY Septeinber 27,.1990- 1 i

I

'I i~

Document. Control' Desk '!

Nuclear Regulatory Commission' a l Washington DC 20555; j

Dear' Sir:

1 Please find enclosed the annual report for The-Ohio State University l

)

Research Reactor; Docket No. 5--150. This report ~is being submitted as '

required by our-Technical Specifications,'Section'6.6.1. If.you have questions on-the content of this report please contact Mr. Richard -!

Myser, Associate Director of the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory 1 (614/292-6755). l Sincerely, j 540u.c Robert F. Redmond  ;

Director RFR/s- a enclosure c: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (w/ enc.) l Theodore S..Michaels (w/ enc.).

-i l

9010100205 900630 i PDR ADOCK 05000150 p ii R PNV ~

u

. +

n...

1 - 3 .J .

//kI

{

College of Engineering

1

' *1 om . .

Introduction-As stated in The10hlo State University Research Reactor Technical Specifications, Section 6.6.1 Operating Reports, an annual repottlshall be made to the NRC'by September 30 of each year. -This report'is to include the.

following seven sections. <

(1) A narrative summary of operating experience:(including expor19ents performed) and of changes in' facility design, performance characteristics, and operating procedures =related to' ,j reactor, safety. occurring during'the' reporting period.

(2) A tr4bulation showJng the energy generated by the reactor.(in kilowatt hours) and the number ofEhours the reactor was incuse.

(3) The-results of safety-related. maintenance and. inspections; <The- l reasons for corrective maintenance'of;safetyrrelated'Itemsishall -I be-included.

(4) A table of' unscheduled shutdowns and inadvertent scrams,. '

including their reasons and the corrective actions taken. .

1 i

(5) A summary of changes to the fccility or procedures, which affect l reactor safety, and performance of tests or experiments carried '

out under the conditions of Section 50.50 of 10CRF50.

(6) A summary of the natur9 and amount of radioactive gaseous, 11guld, and solid effluents released or discharged to the.

environs beyond the effective control of the licensee as mensured or calculated at or prior to the point'of suca release' i or discharge.

l; i

(7) A summary of radiation exposures received.by facility personnel. -!

and visitors, including the dates and times-of significant '

exposures.

-t These seven sections are discussed below.

)

(1) A. Experiments performed The stuff of The OSU hesearch Reactor are generally;1nvolved in .

four types of experiments at the Nuclear Reactor haboratory, included are introductions to nuclear research,-neutron activation analvtin, material Arradiations, and classes that measure varioul reactor parameters. Additionally,' this year we 1 began preparation of IIEU fuel- for shipment, ,

1. Typically when we introduce students, faculty, or other i experimenters to' nuclear research we do the following:  ;

u. Discuss nuclear reactions and radiological safety.

~b. Operate the reactor at 10KW.

l l

l 1

1

.... .l

, . .s-c'. Have the individuals observe. control room operations and d.-Complete a' tour and demonstration of irradiation techniques..

C.' Neutron activation analysio cxperiments are routinely ,

completed for. students ranging from high school to <

graduate school. The facilities normally utilized are3 the

" rabbit" (pneumatic tube).and the "ClF" (Central.

Irradiation Facility). 1The majority of the NAA work is ,

biological samples. 1rradiations are typically.no longer:

than eight' hours.-

3. Material irradiations,20ther than for.NAA, are int four basic; areas; isotope production, detector or: electronic >

component testing, boron neutron capture. therapy.(BNCT),

and irradiation'of biological-samples. Isotope'productjon'

.is extremely limited. Only three irradiations (for Terra

. Technical College) were completed'in the11ast. year. <

Detector.and electronic component testing is-done'more routinely. This testing is usually' complete' in.the^

thermal column or one of the beam ports-although we began fission chamber testing in the: Centrals Irradiation Facility this year. The reactor thermal column is also utilized for other BNCT studies. Typically it.is the location for blood. samples to determine their boron:

content and for.the evaluation of Cr-39 plastic plates.

We also completed a_few other-biologicalJsample.

Irradiations for research projects but currentlyLare not approved to do any animal'1rradiations.

4. Various nuclear engineering or physics. classes throughout Ohio utfilze the reactor for the'following basic experiments:

~

a. Approach to critical (using banked control rods rather than fuel loading) .

b. Control rod calibration by rod drop, positive en riod, and subcritical multiplication

c. M 4surement of-the Reactor Transfer function d . Vt ' coefficient: measurements and

e. Raalological sutveys.

5. The conversion to I.EU fuel was completed in the Fall and Winter of 1988/89. Since that tace we have been working towards the shipment of our ilEU. fuel to D.O.B. Ts better utilize the existing shipping cask (BMI-1) we decided to l trim the foot and ball from the fue.1 element. This -

enables shipment of 24' elements Instead of only 12 at one time.

2

n, -

. - p 4j ll ..s:_ t n w c.~ _ , ,

g. - ..: , , ,

,.f_'

y

=This' utilization and:other experimenta are summarized below. <

Utilizatjon Report ~

= July.1,_1989 - Septentier 30,L1989

. Description. , Hours-a Maintenance:- EffluentLMonitor Calibration (NRL):

, <  : '2-(Maint'enance.- Scram Checks.-Meter (Zeros'(NRL)' .8 4

Ma'intenance - Neutron Meter: Calibration (NRL).- 120 Tore'- Ohio-' Secondary Teacher Workshop on Energy.(AEP/OSU): .-2I c Tour .- Gahanna-Lincoln Illgh School : 1

Evaluation of- Tracks in- CR-39. Plastic' Plates ?

1-(Woollard/ Blue) '

Tour for Nuclear Medicine Technology (Reid)' 13 <

NAA of Cat Tissue for Veterinary, Pathobiology::(Rbjko)- 6 NAA of Cat Tissue for Veterinary Pathob~1 ology.(Rojko) 5- 1

-Effluent Monitor Scaler Installation and Testing;(NRL),; .

.41 Utllization R'eport--

-October 1, 1989 - December'31, 1990I Deserlotton -Ilours .

Characterization of Neutron and Gamma Environment c23.0 and Coll 1IrradiationsLin the Therun1. Column l

..(OSU Pathology) ,

4 y Introduction to Nuclear-Research (ReactortSharing)

' .1

1. Capital University. .

2.0  ;].

~2... Columbus Public Schools-Science Research Class- 2.5 s b;: 3. Sinclair Community College 2.5. l]

4.. Columbus: Mohawk Middle School 4 '. 5 - .g

5. . Northland liigh School 1;5' /

6. Westerville Schools '1.0

7. Eastmoor liigh School 4.0-

))

NAA of Cat Tissue for Trace Element Content' 9.5 g y .(OSU Veterinary Pathology) pn 3 J

_ Tl

~

..t t ,

Ii

> _.y lq _ - ({

H

a

i[ .. y ,,

..^

~

.;;. ; .: c

~ <

j D.' '

d

, )

-f j

~ Irradiation of Plant Tissuein the: Thermal' Column

~

10.0 I

'(Clemson University) <

l NAA:for: Pharmacy.800 Class.' 5 .- 0 " 'I 1

Requalification,for 4'SRO's 4.5  ;

. . . -i Radiation Surveys for NE 606. 1.5' Annual-Reactor. inspection and Maintenance Activitiesi including Power Calibration,' Control Rod-Calibrations, 55.5? ,

I .

Puel Loading,LApproach to Crjtical, and' Control Rod 1 , I

[$

Inspections. ,

t Utilization Report: -r 1'

January 2, 1990 - March 31, 1990:

l Descriptlon' ' llours ]

l Annual-Core Calibrattun and Control Rod Inspection;(NRL) 10.25;~ 4 Irradiation of. Seeds:for a Study.on the Effects;of l1. 5 -(

Radiation on Germination, Rate (NRL/ Jones M.S.) 4 Evaluation of Tracks jn CR-39 Plastic Plates 2.0' d

-(NE/B1ue, Woollord)

Introduction to Nuclear Research-(NRL)- 8.5-O Demonstration.of Dynamic Reactor'ilchavior1(NE 720/M111er) 3.5 9 Approach to Critical and Control Rod Calibrationsz(AFIT,UC) 18.75 NAA of Proteins for Determination of Trace Elements. -0.0 Lj-(P. Chem./G. Anderson) 1

-Irradiation of Floppy Diskettes for Radiation. Damage'  ::3'. 0 -

(Univ. Cincinnati) [P .

Irradiation of Cryogenic Thermometer Sensors

_(NRL/Lakeshoro Cryotronics,~Inc.)

J 4i5' (

NAA of Ilullet . Fragments -(NRL/Eastmoor ll.S. ) 5.5 I Approach to Critical, Radiation Survey,lNAA .4.0~ .;

(NRL/ Terra Tech)  !

Character 1zation of Neutron Flux in-GIIE (NRL) 3.'75 n

.)

4 _)

!j 1

I o, .

,, . , , ._ g . U .- c

g i ' t- f t .N

^* '

~

1

.i -

.[

1 7

Utilization Repor. '

~ Apri1 -1, ;1990. -: June 30i 1990. .

DescrfptIot' ilo,u_ r,s[ ,

~Bullding kadiation Survey, Approach 1.to Critical,tand i 14.01 i LIsotope Production forcTerra Technical; College, < :i o d

- Character 1zation"of Flux in GlIE byl NRLEStaff to; determine : 5,0  ;)

feasibility of fission; chamber, testing'in.this type of  ;; l experimental. facility. .

o .

i Evaluation of 'CH-39 'P1'astic Plates: forNE l999 (Woollard/ Blue): '

3.0

, y s .. , ,

1

>NAA of Proteins foritrace element-Identification and- ,

3.5- s concentration 1 determination for Physiological-; Chemistry:

t (Matalka/Barth) '

j Irradiation of Polls to;be used in ha.lf-11re experiments . 53 0 s  ;

by_NE 641 students and. rod drop ~for control' rod callbration- 1 NAA, of Solls_ by Westerville . Schools Nuc1 car Science ~ Student- -13.0t Approach:to Critical and Control; Rod CalibrationLfor: ..

6 .0- s Xavier University  ;

Radiation Damage Study,of grass; seed and plastic for.- - 6.0 4 Terra Technical Collego ,  :;

Introduction to Nuclear Research for Capital Uitiversity,, .9.5) U1 Dublin Schools, Sinclair Community, College,'Wittenberg  :-

University ,

q

Irradiation of fiber optic cable to determine induced. :3.0 radioactivity for NE 909 Irradiation of A for materfuls. damage studyLfor 7. 0 -

Westerville Schools- ,

1 Approach to Critical' and Control Rod $ Calibration for NE 641" -'10. 0 --

, di; Fuel Cutting- 10.d'  ;

Test-Fission Chambers for accuracy and sensitivity 3.0, for Reuter-Stokes by-NRL Starf Approach =to Critical and Control Ro'd Calibration for 7.0 University of Cincinnati Irradiation of sodlum nitrate solution for Westerville Schools' 2.0' <

1 Vold measurements, radiation surveys, and Approach to 10.0 _;

Critical for NE-744 '

5 'i l ,

j, 6 '}- ,

m

. , . . 1 1

-e l

B. Changes'in-Pacility DealEn-There wereino facility design changes that1 required changes to ,

the SAR or Technical Specifications, 10CFR50,59. changes are  !

described in Section 5.A.

C. ChanEen in Performance Characteristics There have been no changesfin performance characteristics  :

related to reactorfsafety in.the-last year. Ilowever', the Reactor Staff has completed Technical Specification .

modifications.to allow'a power increase;from 10 KW-to 500 KW, ,

-These Specifications were approved by the Reactor Operatfor' -

Comalttee and submit ted to the NRC on June: 12, 1990.

D. Changen in Operating procedures t

There were no changes In~ operating = procedures:related to reactor safety in the la'st year. 10CFR50.59 changes are. described in

.Section (5)B.

(2) A. Kilowatt Hours of Operation - 1152 B. Ilours of Utilization 350 (3) Safety Related Maintenance Routine preventive maintenance and inspections.by the reactor staff.-

an audit by the Reactor Operations Committee, Land an inspection by.the; NRC did not reveal ~any reportable safety relatediltems. Ilowever, maintenance was required ~on three systems related to safety. These oro listed below:

(

Corrective Reason for Maintenance Maintenance

1. Replaced fuse and resistor 1. Rod could not be raised or lowered' in Shlm Safety rod #1 control panel

2. Replaced negative voltage 2. Compensating voltage

, adjustment pot on CIC could not be adjusted power supply

3. Adjusted reactor pool 3. Alarm would'not clear level detector during' pre-start checkout q The License Event Report (LER 150/89001-LC ) from the previous reporting period was closed out during- the NRC Inspection of April 17-18, 1000.

l l-6

'l

_. t

n,.- ~

(4) Unscheduled shutdowns From July 3,t',989 to June 30, 1990: there were: a totall of twenty unplanned scrams. One was a manual scram,-.one_was operator error and the remainder were' instrument reinted. These are summarized below:

Reason Corrective' Action-Scaled Linear Level Additional Instruction.

Electrometer incorrectly (1) (Operator Error)

Manual scram to assure Rod #1 l

Replaced' fuse.and 1 was on bottom'(1)~ resistor in' control panel Spurious Electronic System Scrams q

u. Loss of building power (1) None

b. FC or other switch caused Installed Isolation._ j continuity _or Pool level transformers, adjusted 4 alarm (12) pool' level sensor i

c. Camera flash tripped pool Covered pool _ level 1 level sensor (1)- sensor-i

d. Spike on period safety -Installed Isolation channel-(4) . transformers l (5) Changes in Facility procedures, and Performance of Tests or Experiments in Accordance with 10CFR50.59

')

A. During the period July 1,.1989 to June; 30, 1990 three'0SURR Modification Requests were completed lby the Reactor Staff =and 'i approved'by the Reactor Operations Committee. None'of these-l required license or technical specification changes or.resulted "

In an unreviewed safety question per 10CFR50.59. However, two required minor procedural changes. The modifications are-described below.

)

1. Two minor changes woro made to the security system. One l

' replaced a faulty component, the-other provided-Improved 1 security. Details of these changes contain 2.790(d) information and are available at the site for review. 1

2. Procedure RS-17, Ar-41 Release Calculation, was i implemented which required the addition of a counter to-the effluent monitoring system. This in' turn enables the i 9eactor Staff to calculate Ar-41 releases to the restricted area more accurately.

7 1 1

4 1

1 R

mme

• ~

,.L. -*

k i

f

3. As part of corrective action-'to reduce. inadvertent ~scramsJ j

. two Isointion transformers were installed in the control-

~

toon to minimize surges and noise present in the power-  ;

lines'that could effect instruments- .

-m .>

B._The following is.a list ofcProcedure' Changes made under_

10CFR50.59.from July'1',-1989.to June 30, 1990 in accordance with 1 ,

Administrative Procedure AP-06 Format for Writing., Revising..and J Approving Procedures, yltle 'Date'of ROC Approval' AP-15 Logging Emergency Scrams. 2/8/90 OM-14 Puel Element' Cutting _ 5/4/90 '

RS-07'NRL Weekly Direct Frisk' -7/6/89-RS-08 NRL Smear Survey 7/6/89 l RS-11-Routine Shipmentlof Radioactive 7/6/89 l Materials-RC-16 Dosimeter Calibration .7/6/89 RS-17 Ar-41 Release Calculation ~ 7/6/89J IM-01 Scram Checks 2/8/90 IM-02 Adjusting Reactor Control _. 2/8/90.

Instrumentation Meter Zeros IM-03 OSURR Pre-Start Checkout 2/8/90' IM-04 OSURR Post Shutdown Checkout 2/8/90

. ,i IM-06 Use of Low Level Source Bypass 2/8/90 IM-07 Rod Parameter 1 Testing 2/8/90' IM-08 Startup Power Level Indications. 2/8/90-and Compensating Voltage Changes IM-00 Startup After Scram Due to Loss 2/8/90 of Building Power l

IM-12 Rx Instrumentation Calibration / Checks 2/8/90 .

(

8  :

.l:

k _ _-k :g _

J .'. . .

g.

SP-01, Personnel-Authorized Access to the NRL 2/8/90=

h SP-02 Security Call List. 2/8/90'  ;

+

SP-03 Access Control to NRL 2/8/90 SP-04 Security Orientation 2/8/90- ,

SP-05 Weekly Security Alarm Test -2/8/90 .

SP-06 Operation'of Security System 2/8/90- l SP-07 Bomb Threat 2/8/90, i

SP-08 Alarm Failure:Ou'ide 2/8/90' SP-09 OSUPD Response 2/8/90 SP-20 NRL Key Procedure 2/8/90 i SP-11 Protection of SNM 2/8/90 SP-12 Fuel Shipment Communicutions 2/8/90 C. No tests or experiments were conducted under 10CFREO.59-from July 1, 1989 to June 30, 1990. However,<the Reactor Operations Committee did review and approve a new experiment.to perform.In-~

Situ Testing of Cryogenic Thermometers. This testing is-dependent on external funding and has not occurred as yet. y Ji (6).RadionetIve Effluents i

A. Gaseous Effluent - The only. effluent we mensure'Is the release of Ar-41. During the period the maximum. production;was calculated to be~about 3.4% of'MPC for the' unrestricted., area. .A 1 new procedure to directly measure Ar-41-releases was implemented starting October 1, 1990. The measured'value for the period-October 1, 1989 to June 30, 1990 was 0.0025% of MPC released to the' unrestricted area.

B. Liquid Heleases - The reactor pool was not dralned during this 9 reporting period. Hot sink records ind!'cate the following disposals wero-made.

j Co-60 40 ~ p C1 .}

Cs-137 40 yC1 ,

Ba-133 40 yCl Co-57 40 yC1 9

i

<g,;- >

i

.. .--* -- r

-t C. Solid Releases - No. releases =of solid radioactive material were.

made to tho' uncontrolled environment.

'(7) A. Radiation Exposures Inthe last annual report exposure' records wcre reported for'the period June.5, 1988 to June 4 L1989. Since the firm'that 3 maintulns records for The Ohio State. University keeps a year.to; i date. record it.isteasier to report this by the nearest. completed' calendar year: Therefore film badge' exposures:in this report

..are for the period January 1 to December.31,.1989. Six individuals were monitored as radiation workers for the, entire year, two others for part of the; year. These are tabulated

-below. They areEcons] stent with.the ALARA policy for The Ohio State University'and represent a:small fraction of the allowed limits. <

Individual Whole Dody (Waist) Whole Body (Neck) Right Left Eye Deep Shallow Deep Shallow -Finger Finger Deep Shallow I 40 40 - - - - .. -

II M M - -

- m - - - - -

III 30 30 30 30 M 30 ~10 10 J IV 10 10 - - - . - -

V 50 00 40 40 'M.. 30 '40 40 ,

VI 170 170 140 -140 1110 980 140 .140' .

VII 30 30 - - ' ' - - - -

VIII M M M M M M. M M All doses-In millirem', M-denotes less that-minimum, detectable level for monitoring device, - denotes no monitoring.

D. In addition to the above individuals, all visitors and:

experimenttis are monitored. :These individuals are normally issued visitor or spare film badges, 'Results.of these exposures- ,

are tabulated below.

Visitors (10 badges) 9-M r 1 - 20 millirem I

Spares (13 badges) "

5-M 6 - 10 millirem 1 millirem 1 - 40 millirem q

'i 10 i