ML14051A529

Submittal of 2013 Annual Report for the U.S. Geological Survey Triga Reactor

ML14051A529
Person / Time
Site:	U.S. Geological Survey
Issue date:	01/30/2014
From:	DeBey T M US Dept of Interior, Geological Survey (USGS)
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
Download: ML14051A529 (6)

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M USGS science for a changing world Department of the Interior US Geological Survey Box 25046 MS-974 Denver CO, 80225 January 30, 2014 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Document Control Desk Washington DC 20555

Dear NRC staff,

The 2013 annual report is herein submitted for the U.S. Geological Survey TRIGA non-power reactor facility.

This report is generated in compliance with our license conditions.

The facility docket number is 50-274.Sincerely, Timothy M. DeBey ýReactor Supervisor Enclosure Copy to: Greg Schoenebeck, OWFN 12 D20 vIA 2 I~3N U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY TRIGA REACTOR ANNUAL REPORT JANUARY 1, 2013- DECEMBER 31, 2013 NRC LICENSE NO. R-113 -DOCKET NO. 50-274 I. Personnel Changes: Michael Feller was converted from a Pathways Intern-Temporary Position to a Pathways Intern-Career Position.II. Operating Experience The Geological Survey TRIGA Reactor (GSTR) was in normal operation for the year 2013. No major facility changes were made during the year.A synopsis of irradiations performed during the year is given below, listed by the organization submitting the samples to the reactor staff: Organization USGS -INAA USGS -Geochronology USGS -other Non-USGS Total Number of Samples 1059 1406 163 4255 6883 A. Thermal power calibrations were performed in January, July, September, November and December, with minor adjustments made to the instrumentation.

B. During the report period, 216 daily checklists and 12 monthly checklists were completed in compliance with technical specifications requirements for surveillance of the reactor facility.C. Tours were provided to individuals and groups during the year for a total visitor count of approximately 515.I Ill. Tabulation of Enerav Generated Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Totals MWh operated 64.953 44.617 71.531 81.784 173.855 99.735 88.045 167.033 116.397 45.766 58.873 45.846 1058.435 Critical hours 67h 54m 47h 7m 73h 52m 84h 24m 176h 50m 102h 51m 91 h 56m 169h 44m 119h 22m 49h 26m 75h 2m 59h 29m 1117h 57m Pulses 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 3 IV. Unscheduled Shutdowns Number 1116 1117 Date 12/5/13 12/5/13 Cause NP high power due to reg rod drive up button fail NP high power due to AUTO controller overshoot V. Significant Maintenance Operations 2/13 Replaced detector on CAM with LND7181 4/13 Replaced tank bulbs with LED arrays and 12.8 VDC power supply 7/13 Replaced purification system pump with a self-priming pump 7/13 Replaced sump pump in cooling tower area with similar submersible pump 9/13 Replaced ion exchange resin 11/13 Replaced the motor and belt on the Rm 151 hood fan unit 12/13 Replaced the reg rod UP switch 12/13 Replaced the high voltage adjustment potentiometer R6 in NP-1000 12/13 Replaced Action Paks with universal signal conditioners on RAMs 1 and 6 and on the continuous air monitor.12/13 Cleaned and repaired water feeder on secondary storage tank VI. Summary of 10 CFR 50.59 changes No 50.59 changes were made to the facility in CY 2013.A 50.59 screening form was established and approved in May for future use.2 VII. Radioactivity Releases A. Listed below are the total amounts of radioactive gaseous effluents released to the environment beyond the effective control of the reactor facility.Table 1. Gaseous Effluents Released to the Environment Month Argon-41 R-113 License Tritium (ETO 10CFR20 Allowable (mCi)

• Allowable (Ci) (Ci) (mCi)January 0.494 5.833 0.00 124 February 0.370 5.833 0.10 124 March 0.599 5.833 0.00 124 April 1.184 5.833 0.13 124 May 2.175 5.833 0.17 124 June 2.359 5.833 0.00 124 July 1.227 5.833 0.03 124 August 1.558 5.833 0.26 124 September 0.750 5.833 0.13 124 October 0.323 5.833 0.00 124 November 0.963 5.833 0.16 124 December 1.015 5.833 0.10 124 Total 13.017 70.00 1.08 1488% of Allowable 18.60% -------------------

0.073%* Note: The tritium concentrations are estimates based on the amount of water lost by evaporation from the reactor multiplied by the concentration of tritium as HTO.Tritium sample analyses were performed by Test America Laboratories.

B. No waste was shipped this calendar year.C. Throughout the year Na-24, Br-82, Co-60, Mo-99, and Tc-99m were observed on the CAM filter analyses.

The conservative estimated releases for these isotopes are in Table 2.Table 2. Releases of other isotopes in 2013 Isotope PCi pCi/ml 10 CFR 20 limits (pCi/ml) % of limit Na-24 5.71E-3 3.84E-16 7.OOE-09 5.48E-6 Br-82 4.07E-5 9.25E-15 5.OOE-09 2.05E-4 Co-60 4.07E-5 2.73E-18 2.OOE-10 1.37E-6 Mo-99 1.38E-1 1.09E-17 2.OOE-9 5.46E-7 Tc-99m 1.78E-3 1.20E-16 2.OOE-7 5.99E-8 VIII. Radiation Monitoring Our program to monitor and control radiation exposures included the four major elements below during the operating year.3

1. Nineteen gamma-sensitive area monitors are located throughout the Nuclear Science Building.

A remote readout panel is located in the reactor health physics office. High alarm set points range from 2 mR/hr to 50 mR/hr. High level alarms are very infrequent and due to sample movements.

2. One Continuous Air Monitor (CAM) does sampling of the air in the reactor bay.An equilibrium concentration of about 1.5 x 10-8 pCi/ml present for two minutes will result in an increase of about 500 cpm above background.

The alarm setpoints are a low-level alarm set at 3000 cpm and the high level alarm set at 10000 cpm. Reactor bay air is sampled during all reactor operations.

The fixed particulate air filter is changed each week and counted on a HPGE gamma spectrometer counting system.The charcoal filter, fitted behind the particulate air filter, is also changed and counted weekly. In all instances, sample data were less than airborne concentration values in 10 CFR Part 20, Appendix B, Table 2 for all particulate radioisotopes produced by the reactor.3. Contamination wipe surveys and radiation surveys with portable survey instruments are performed at least once a month. All portable instruments are calibrated with a 3-Curie (initial activity)

Cs-137 source traceable to NBS, and wipes are counted on a Gamma Products G5000w low level counting system. The highest removable contamination found was equal to 6277 pCi/1 00 cm beta-gamma, located in the reactor bay on top of the west white table on the south side. This area was successfully decontaminated below MDA. The next highest removable contamination found was equal to 2270 pCi/1 00 cm 2 beta-gamma, located in the reactor bay on top of the west white table on the north side. No areas were greater than 9.4 pCi/1 00 cm 2 alpha contamination.

This area was successfully decontaminated to acceptable levels.The roof area over the reactor tank is roped off and posted as a radiation area (averaging 2.5 mR/hr) during 1 MW operations.

4. LiF TLD dosimeters were used at four outdoor environmental stations.

Reactor facility visitors are issued self-reading dosimeters.

Reactor staff personnel are issued beta, gamma, albedo neutron badges.Table 3. Personnel Monitorin Results (12/1112 -11/30113)Whole Body (Rem) Whole Body (Rem) Extremity (Rem)Employee code Deep Dose Equiv. Shallow Dose Equiv.E0888 0.584 0.623 2.092 E0607 0.362 0.379 1.824 E0707 0.728 0.748 2.432 E0908 0.166 0.166 0.518 E0612 0.032 0.033 0.061 E0712 0.064 0.064 0.152 4 Reactor visitors and occasional experimenters wore pocket dosimeters that resulted in no individual's reading that was greater than 1.9 mrem per a visit and no cumulative total greater than 9.3 mrem.Table 4. Environmental Dose Results Dose Dose Dose Dose Total Location Jan-Mar Apr-June July-Sept.

Oct.- Dec.(RAD) (RAD) (RAD) (RAD) (RAD)Exhaust Stack 0.079 0.054 0.239 0.090 0.462 Cooling Tower 0.045 0.000 0.000 0.021 0.066 Fence West Vehicle 0.057 0.022 0.035 0.034 0.148 Gate West Room 0.074 0.080 0.085 0.126 0.365 151 Gate Southwest 0.029 0.000 0.000 0.012 0.041 Light Pole Control Ckgrou 0.046 0.051 0.050 0.044 0.191 (background)

Southeast 0.037* 0.000 0.000 0.010 0.074 Light Pole Rx0.128 0.096 0.106 0.101 0.431 Loading Dock 012*Badge exhibited an unusual response and the dose given is an estimate.Note: Above totals have the background subtracted (see control).

Environmental TLDs were supplied and analyzed by Mirion Technologies.

X. Environmental Monitoring There were several isotopes detected on the CAM filters throughout the year resulting in very small releases of Na-24, Br-82, Co-60, Mo-99, and Tc-99m through the normal air exhaust on the roof. The amounts released are shown in Table 2.Routine biennial environmental soil and water samples will be taken in the summer of 2014.5