ML12249A021

Submittal of Annual Report Required by the Rinsc Technical Specifications (Section 6.8.4)

ML12249A021
Person / Time
Site:	Rhode Island Atomic Energy Commission
Issue date:	08/30/2012
From:	Guarino S Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	Xiaosong Yin NRC/RGN-III, NRC Region 4, NRC/RGN-V
References
Download: ML12249A021 (7)

Text

August 30, 2012 Docket No. 50-193 Mr. Xiaosong Yin, Project Manager Non-Power Reactors, Decommissioning and Environmental Project Directorate Division of Reactor Projects - III/IV/V U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

Washington, DC 20555

Dear Mr. Yin:

This letter and enclosures constitule the annual report required by the RINSC Technical Specifications (Section 6.8.4). Enclosure I provides reactor operating statistics. Enclosure 2 provides information pertaining to inadvertent reactor ihutdowns or scrams. Enclosure 3 discusses maintenance operations performed during the reporting period. Enclosure 4 describes changes to the facility carried out under the conditions of Section 50.59 of Chapter 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Lastly, Enclosure 5 summarizes the radiological controls information. If there are any questions regarding this information, please call me at 401-789-9391.

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Step en Guarino Health Physicist Enclosures (5)

Copy to:

Mr. Craig Bassett, USNRC Dr. John J. Breen, Chairman NR,SC Dr. Stephen Mecca, Chairman RIAEC Dr. Anthony Nunes, RIAEC Dr. Peter Gromet, RIAEC Dr. Andrew Kadak, RIAEC Dr. Bahram Nassersharif, RIAEC I4020

ENCLOSURE ]

Technical Specifications Section 6.8.4.a Operating Energy Energy Month Year Hours (MWH) (MWD)

July 2011 25.65 37.98 1.58 August 2011 20.2 24.88 1.04 September 2011 . 25.82 29.62 1.23 October 2011 .15.32 23.1 0.96 November 2011 30.85 41.17 1.72 December 2011 20.73 25.33 1.06 January 2012 6.75 7.2 0.30 February 2012 15.77 17.2 0.72 March 2012 25.58 31.23 1.30 April 2012 19.37 19.65 0.82 May 2012 *20.72 26.87 1.12 June 2012 22.87 34.33 1.43 TOTAL FY12 249.63 318.56 13.27 Total Energy Output since Initial:!Criticality: 64,199.1 MWhrs or 26,841.63 MWdays.

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ENCLOSURE 2 EMERGENCY SHUTDOWNS AND SCRAMS The following is a list of the emergency shutdowns and inadvertent scrams that occurred during the 2011-2012 reporting period. This information is required by Technical Specification 6.8.4.b.

Run Date No. Logbook Page Cause Description Period Scram due to 7/14/11 8625 58 114 Environmental excess humidity in control room*

7/25/11 8628 58 118 Operator Natural Convection High Neutron Flux Period Scram due to excess humidity 8/11/11 8632 58 123 Environmental in control room Period Scram due to excess humidity 8/16/11 8634 58 125 Environmental in control room Period Scram due to excess humidity 9/8/11 8638 58 129 Environmental in control room 2/2/12 8673 59 ;11 Operator Period Scram while spiking cold core Natural Convection High Neutron Flux, 3/1/12 8681 59 19 Operator Select switch in wrong position Natural Convection High Neutron Flux, 3/7/12 8682 59 20 Instrumentation miswired following upgrade**

Forced Convection High Neutron Flux, reactor period too low to engage 3/15/12 8685 59 23 Operator automatic controls

• Increased airflow into thecontrol room from the confinement building due to construction work lead to. high humidity levels during the 2011 summer season.

Construction has been completed and the issue is resolved.

• • During reactor control vpgrades a crossed wire crossed Wide Range #2 Power Channel to register Naturial Convection (NC) mode during Forced Convection (FC) Mode. This caused the monitor to trip and initiate a scram at the NC LSSS of 11 5kW, despite all FC conditions being met. The wire was repaired and the issue corrected.

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ENCLOSURE 3 Technical Specification 6.8.4.c requires a listing of the major maintenance operations performed in the 2011-2012 reporting period including their impact upon the safe operation of the reactor and the reasons for the corrective maintenance.

The gear reducer in cooling tower #2 seized during use. Operations were switched to system #1 and the gear reducer was replaced. The original was rebuilt and is available as a spare.

Following recommendations made during a routine NRC inspection, a survey was performed of the concrete of the RINSC confinement building and adjoining structures. The independent inspection found that the cracks in the structures are not structural and do not pose a threat to the confinement building.

Improvements have been made to roofing materials to prevent water from entering the foundation and expanding the cracks.

ENCLOSURE 4 FACILITY CHANGES - 10CFR50.59 REVIEW Technical Specification 6.8.4.d requires that we provide a listing and description of any 10 CFR 50.59 evaluations conducted during the 2011-2012 reporting period. There were two facility changes made during this period requiring a 10 CFR 50.59 evaluation.

Ongoing issues with the Neutron Flux Monitor have lead to fabrication of a new Test Generator Card, as described in the RINSC 50.59 Report dated February 2 8th, 2011 and mentioned in the FYI I Annual Report.

Installation of the newly fabricated component revealed a discrepancy in the wiring outside of the Neutron Flux Monitor. The instrument's 'loss of high voltage alarm and scram were wired to work opposite their original design (normally open vs. normally closed and vice versa). Changes were evaluated in accordance with 10 CFR 50.59 and approved by the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Committee to allow the installation and use of the new test generator card in accordance with the manufacturer's design.

The RINSC has continued efforts to upgrade and modernize the reactor control room. Additional changes were evaluated and approved by the safety committee. These changes include new displays for reactor power level, core and experiment status, and area radiation levels. Other changes include adding annunciatiors, alarms, and additional test points. A new master power switch was fabricated and installed.

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ENCLOSURE 5 RADIOLOGICAL CONTROLS

1. Environmental Surveys outside the Facility - Technical Specification 6.8.4.e Quarterly OSL 1 badges are Zleployed outside the reactor building in three separate locations. The general public does not frequent these locations and therefore occupancy factors may be used to approximate annual dose. The allowable external dose rates must be below 50 mrem per year. The quarterly doses in units of mrem are shown in the table below.

LOCATION 3RD QTR 2011 4 TH QTR 2011 IsT QTR 2012 2 ND QTR 20122 Northeast Wall b 0 33 0 Dem ineralizer 1 0 44 127 Door Heat Exchanger 4 4 51 21

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Door These areas are in locations where access is limited. Consequently, the general public will not frequent these areas, and appropriate occupancy factors can be used to approximate annual dose. Assuming that the maximum time that a member of the general public would be present in one of these locations is 15 minutes per day, an occupancy factor of 0.01 can be used to obtain the annual dose that would be received by a member of the general public, in any of these areas.

The annual dose rate at the Northeast Wall, Demineralizer and Heat Exchanger Doors is dependent on the operations schedule of the reactor. Ignoring the fact that the dose rate is not present 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> per day, and applying the occupancy factor of 0.01, the annual dose that would be received by an individual at the Demineralizer Door would be 1.72 mrem. The dose received at the Heat Exchanger Door would be 0.8 mrem. Tlhe annual dose at the Northeast Wall would be 0.33 mrem. The variations from quarter to quarter and from previous reports were due in part to movements of items within the reactor building during the fiscal year and varying use of the different irradiation facilities.

2. Annual Exposures Exceeding 500 mrem - Technical Specification 6.8.4.f There were no personnel exposures greater than 500 mrem.

3. Radioactive Effluents - Technical Specification 6.8.4.g A. Individual gaseous efflient concentrations for each reactor operation are recorded on the Monthly Information Sheets (Form NSC-78). The concentration of radioactive materials in the effluent released from the facility exhaust stacks shall not exceed I E+05 times concentrations specified in IOCFR20, Appendix B, Table II, when averaged over time periods permitted by 10CFR20.3 Gamma spectroscopy of stack gas samples has shown that the principal gaseous effluent is Argon-

41. The maximum concentration for this principal contaminant permitted under that Technical Specification is I E-8 ltCi/cc x 1E5 = IE-3 ýtCi/cc. Concentrations released during the year were less than 0.02 of that limit.

The total Argon-41 release during the reporting period was 120.22 curies. The calculated effective dose equivalent for this release is 2.6 mrem/year (COMPLY Code).

1Optically Stimulated Luminescence 2 Landauer reads the OSL dosimeters to I mrem.

3 Technical Specifications, Section 3.7.2.

, ENCLOSURE 5 RADIOLOGICAL CONTROLS B. Liquid effluent concenftrations released to the sewer are documented on the Sewer Disposal Record (Form NSC-52) -and/or the Liquid Release Record (Form NSC-17). During the reporting period no discharges were made.