ML082610062

Initial Examination Report No. 50-059/OL-08-01, Texas A&M University AGN-201M Reactor

ML082610062
Person / Time
Site:	Texas A&M University
Issue date:	09/18/2008
From:	Johnny Eads Research and Test Reactors Branch B
To:	Juzaitis R Texas A&M Univ
Shared Package
ML082550060	List: ML082550062 ML082610062 ML082610283
References
50-059/08-001
Download: ML082610062 (13)

Text

September 18, 2008 Dr. Raymond J. Juzaitis Department Head Department of Nuclear Engineering 3133 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-3133

SUBJECT:

INITIAL EXAMINATION REPORT NO. 50-059/OL-08-01, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY AGN-201M REACTOR

Dear Dr. Juzaitis:

During the weeks of June 30, 2008 and July 18, 2008, the NRC administered an operator licensing examination at your Texas A&M University AGN-201M Reactor. The examination was conducted according to NUREG-1478, "Operator Licensing Examiner Standards for Research and Test Reactors," Revision 2. Examination questions and preliminary findings were discussed with those members of your staff identified in the enclosed report at the conclusion of the examination.

In accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Section 2.390, a copy of this letter and the enclosures will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The NRC is forwarding the individual grades to you in a separate letter which will not be released publicly. Should you have any questions concerning this examination, please contact Mr. Paul V. Doyle Jr. at (301)415-1058 or via internet e-mail pvd@nrc.gov.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Johnny H. Eads, Jr., Chief Research and Test Reactors Branch B Division of Policy and Rulemaking Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No.50-059

Enclosures:

1. Initial Examination Report No. 50-059/OL-08-01

2. Written examination with facility comments incorporated cc without enclosures: See next page

September 18, 2008 Dr. Raymond J. Juzaitis Department Head Department of Nuclear Engineering 3133 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-3133

SUBJECT:

INITIAL EXAMINATION REPORT NO. 50-059/OL-08-01, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY AGN-201M REACTOR

Dear Dr. Juzaitis:

During the weeks of June 30, 2008 and July 18, 2008, the NRC administered an operator licensing examination at your Texas A&M University AGN-201M Reactor. The examination was conducted according to NUREG-1478, "Operator Licensing Examiner Standards for Research and Test Reactors," Revision 2. Examination questions and preliminary findings were discussed with those members of your staff identified in the enclosed report at the conclusion of the examination.

In accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Section 2.390, a copy of this letter and the enclosures will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The NRC is forwarding the individual grades to you in a separate letter which will not be released publicly. Should you have any questions concerning this examination, please contact Mr. Paul V. Doyle Jr. at (301)415-1058 or via internet e-mail pvd@nrc.gov.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Johnny H. Eads, Jr., Chief Research and Test Reactors Branch B Division of Policy and Rulemaking Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No.50-059

Enclosures:

1. Initial Examination Report No. 50-059/OL-08-01

2. Written examination cc without enclosures: See next page RidsNRRDPRPRTB Facility File DISTRIBUTION w/ encls.: (CHart) O-13 D-07 PUBLIC PRTB r/f RidsNRRDPRPRTA ADAMS ACCESSION #: ML082610062 TEMPLATE #:NRR-074 OFFICE PRTB:CE IOLB:LA E PRTB:BC NAME PDoyle CHart JEads DATE 09/08/2008 09/17/2008 09/18/2008 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

Texas A&M University Docket No. 50-59 Dr. William S. Charlton Department Head of Nuclear Engineering cc: Texas A&M University Zachry Bldg. Room 129 Mayor, City of College Station Mail Stop 3133 P.O. Box Drawer 9960 College Station, TX 77843-3133 College Station, TX 77840-3575 Governors Budget and Test, Research, and Training Planning Office Reactor Newsletter P.O. Box 13561 University of Florida Austin, TX 78711 202 Nuclear Sciences Center Gainesville, FL 32611 Texas A&M University System ATTN: Dr. Warren D. Reece, Director Nuclear Science Center Texas Engineering Experiment Station F. E. Box 89, M/S 3575 College Station, Texas 77843 Radiation Program Officer Bureau of Radiation Control Dept. Of State Health Services Division for Regulatory Services 1100 West 49th Street, MC 2828 Austin, TX 78756-3189 Susan M. Jablonski Technical Advisor Office of Permitting, Remediation &

Registration Texas Commission on Environmental Quality P.O. Box 13087, MS 122 Austin, TX 78711-3087 Dr. Ian S. Hamilton Department Head of Nuclear Engineering Texas A&M University Zachry Bldg. Room 129 Mail Stop 3133 College Station, TX 77843-3133

U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OPERATOR LICENSING INITIAL EXAMINATION REPORT REPORT NO.: 50-059/OL-08-01 FACILITY DOCKET NO.: 50-059 FACILITY LICENSE NO.: R-23 FACILITY: Texas A&M University AGN-201M Reactor EXAMINATION DATES: July 01, 2008 and July 18, 2008 SUBMITTED BY: ___/RA/____________________ 09/04/2008 Paul V. Doyle Jr., Chief Examiner Date

SUMMARY

On July 01, 2008 the NRC administered an operating test to 1 SRO-I candidate. On July 18, 2008, the facility administration administered an NRC prepared written examination to the same candidate. The candidate passed all sections of the examination.

REPORT DETAILS

1. Examiners:

Paul V. Doyle Jr., Chief Examiner, NRC

2. Results:

RO PASS/FAIL SRO PASS/FAIL TOTAL PASS/FAIL Written 0/0 1/1 1/1 Operating Tests 0/0 1/1 1/1 Overall 0/0 1/1 1/1

3. Exit Meeting:

Due to the nature of this examination, there was no exit meeting.

ENCLOSURE 1

OPERATOR LICENSING EXAMINATION With Answer Key TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY AGN-201M July, 2008 ENCLOSURE 2

Section B Normal, Emergency and Radiological Control Procedure Page 1 QUESTION B.01 [2.0 points, 0.5 each]

Match the type of radiation in column A with its associated Quality Factor (10CFR20) from column B.

Column A Column B

a. alpha 1

b. beta 2

c. gamma 5

d. neutron (unknown energy) 10 20 QUESTION B.02 [2.0 points, 0.5 each]

Match the terms in column A with their respective definitions in column B.

a. Radioactivity 1. The thickness of a material which will reduce a gamma flux by a factor of two.

b. Contamination 2. An impurity which pollutes or adulterates another substance. In radiological safety, contamination refers to the radioactive materials which are the sources of ionizing radiations.

c. Dose 3. The quantity of radiation absorbed per unit mass by the body or by any portion of the body.

e. Half-thickness 4. That property of a substance which causes it to emit ionizing radiation.

This property is the spontaneous transmutation of the atoms of the substance.

QUESTION B.03 [1.0 point]

Per Technical Specifications the reactor must scram if shield water temperature falls to

a. 5°C

b. 10°C

c. 15°C

d. 20°F

Section B Normal, Emergency and Radiological Control Procedure Page 2 QUESTION B.04 [2.0 points, 1/2 each]

Match type of radiation (a thru d) with the proper penetrating power (1 thru 4). Use each choice for penetrating power only once.

Radiation Penetrating Power

a. Gamma 1. Stopped by thin sheet of paper

b. Beta 2. Stopped by thin sheet of metal

c. Alpha 3. Best shielded by light material

d. Neutron 4. Best shielded by dense material QUESTION B.05 [1.0 point]

Your Reactor Operator license expires after _____ years.

a. 2

b. 4

c. 6

d. 8 QUESTION B.06 [1.0 point]

Which ONE of the following scrams is NOT required by Technical Specifications?

a. Shield Tank Low Level

b. Channel #3 High Power

c. Manual

d. Skirt Monitor

Section B Normal, Emergency and Radiological Control Procedure Page 3 QUESTION B.07 [1.0 point]

Two senior reactor operators are operating the reactor at night. One receives a phone call for an emergency at home. Which ONE of the listed actions below is the MINIMUM action which must be taken to continue to operate the reactor?

a. none, the single SRO may operate the reactor alone.

b. a second person certified by the Reactor Supervisor as qualified to activate manual scram and initiate emergency procedures must be called in to accompany the SRO.

c. a second person licensed as a reactor operator must be called in to operate the reactor.

d. a second person licensed as a licensed senior operator must be called in to either operate or supervise the operation of the reactor.

Section C Facility and Radiation Monitoring Systems Page 4 QUESTION C.01 [2.0 points, 1/2 each]

Match the instrument and control system channel in column A with the correct detector listed in column B. (Note:

Detectors listed in column B may be used more than once or not at all, however, there is only one answer for each channel.)

a. Nuclear Instrument Channel #1 1. BF3-filled Ionization Chamber

b. Nuclear Instrument Channel #2 2. BF3-filled Proportional Counter

c. Nuclear Instrument Channel #3 3. Geiger-Meuller Detector

d. Skirt Radiation Monitor 4. Sodium Iodide Scintillation Detector QUESTION C.02 [1.0 point]

How does the control rod position indicator measure rod height?

a. A potentiometer attached to the control rod drive motor generates a signal proportional to rod position.

b. A series of 1000 limit switches open and close as the rod moves in giving rod position to 0.1% accuracy.

c. An accelerometer determines the relative movement of the control rod.

d. A radio-frequency detector measures the height of the control rod extension tube above the piston.

QUESTION C.03 [1.0 point]

Which ONE of the following statements describes the drive direction and speeds of the safety rods, the coarse rod and the fine rod?

a. The Safety rods drive in only in fast speed and out in slow speed. The coarse and fine rods drive in either fast or slow speed.

b. The Safety rods drive in or out at fast speed. The coarse and fine rods drive in or out at fast or slow speed.

c. The Safety rods drive in or out at slow speed. The coarse and fine rods drive in either direction at either fast or slow speed.

d. The Safety rods drive in or out at slow speed. The coarse and fine rods drive in at fast speed and out at slow speed.

QUESTION C.04 [1.0 point]

Which ONE of the following instrumentation circuits has input into the evacuation alarm?

a. Shield Water Low circuit.

b. Skirt Monitor High circuit.

c. NI Channel #3 period circuit.

d. Earthquake circuit.

Section C Facility and Radiation Monitoring Systems Page 5 QUESTION C.05 [1.0 points]

During a flood, the Aerojet General Nuclear Safety Analysis Report states that the reactor will remain safe because for this emergency you insert a ________ into the glory-hole and the rods will remain out due to _____.

a. cadmium rod, power clutch on control rod drives.

b. boron rod, power clutch on control rod drives.

c. cadmium rod, springs on rod drive mechanisms.

d. boron rod, springs on rod drive mechanisms.

QUESTION C.06 [1.0 point]

During a startup you attempt to withdraw safety rod # 1. It wont move. Which ONE of the following is NOT the cause?

a. Counts per second too low on the startup channel.

b. Nuclear Safety #2 channel level too low.

c. Reactor period too low.

d. After the last scram the fine rod did drive fully out.

QUESTION C.07 [1.0 point]

Which ONE of the following methods is actually used to minimize the shock to the control rods on during a reactor scram?

a. A small spring on bottom of the rod.

b. A piston drives air out of a dashpot as the rod nears the bottom of its travel.

c. An electro-mechanical brake on the motor energizes as the rod down switch is energized.

d. A small spring on the bottom of the control rod.

QUESTION C.08 [1.0 point]

Which ONE of the following is the source presently used in the AGN-201M reactor?

a. Americium-Beryllium (Am-Be)

b. Plutonium-Beryllium (Pu-Be)

c. Radon-Beryllium (Ra-Be)

d. Uranium-Beryllium (U-Be)

Section C Facility and Radiation Monitoring Systems Page 6 QUESTION C.09 [1.0 point]

Which ONE of the following methods is actually used to minimize the shock to the control rods on during a reactor scram?

a. A small spring on bottom of the rod.

b. A piston drives air out of a dashpot as the rod nears the bottom of its travel.

c. An electro-mechanical brake on the motor energizes as the rod down switch is energized.

d. A small spring on the bottom of the control rod.

Section B Normal, Emergency and Radiological Control Procedures Page 7 B.01 a, 20; b, 1; c, 1; d, 10 REF: 10CFR20.100x B.02 a, 4; b, 2; c, 3; d, 1 REF: Standard NRC question B.03 c REF: Technical specification 3.2(f).

B.04 a, 4; b, 2; c, 1; d, 3 REF: Standard NRC Health Physics Question B.05 c REF: 10CFR55.55(a)

B.06 d REF: Technical Specifications § 2.1 and Table 3.1 B.07 b REF: Technical Specifications § 6.1.9

Section C Facility and Radiation Monitoring Systems Page 8 C.01 a, 2; b, 1; c, 1; d, 3 Ref: SAR Chapter 7 C.02 c CAF REF: Per discussions this system was changed. This question was deleted due to No correct answer.

C.03 c b Answer changed due to facility modifications.

REF: Per SAR and pre-examination orientation July 2008.

C.04 b REF: Per SAR and Pre-examination orientation July 2008.

C.05 c REF:

C.06 c REF: These are the Technical Specification limits.

C.07 b REF: SAR and pre-examination orientation July 2008.

C.08 a REF: Per pre-examination orientation July, 2008.

C.09 b REF: