ML022480278

Letter from Washington State University Transmitting Annual Report

ML022480278
Person / Time
Site:	Washington State University
Issue date:	08/29/2002
From:	Tripard G Washington State Univ
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
Download: ML022480278 (9)

Text

Washington State University Nuclear Radiation Center PO Box 641300 Pullman, WA 99164-1300 509-335-8641 FAX 509-335-4433 August 29, 2002 Document Control Desk U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555 Re: Docket No. 50-27; Facility License R-76

Dear Sir:

In accordance with the Technical Specifications for Facility License R-76 and the provisions of 10 CFR 50.59, paragraph (6), the attached Annual Report prepared by Stephanie L. Sharp, Reactor Supervisor of the WSU facility, is hereby submitted. The report covers the period July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2002.

Sincerely, Gerald E. Tripard Director GET/pw Enclosure cc: S.L. Sharp Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation American Nuclear Insurers

'.7

ANNUAL REPORT ON THE OPERATION OF THE WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY TRIGA REACTOR Facility License R-76 for the Reporting Period of July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2002 A. Narrative Summary of the Year's Operation I. Operating Experience The Washington State University Reactor has accumulated 916 Megawatt hours on Core a

33-X hours during the reporting period. A total of 2643 samples were irradiated, for total of 4171.13 sample-hours. In addition, 9 pulses greater than $1.00 of reactivity addition were performed during this reporting period. The quarterly operations summaries are shown in Table I section B.

II. Changes In Facility Design, Performance Characteristics, and Operating Procedures Related to Reactor Safety.

There was one major upgrade performed under 10CFR 50.59 criteria in this reporting year.

III. All surveillance tests and requirements were performed and completed within the prescribed time period. The results of all inspections revealed no abnormalities.

B. Energy and Cumulative Output The quarterly operations summaries are given in Table I.

TABLE I Fiscal Year Summary of Reactor Operations J-A-S O-N-D J-F-M A-M-J TOTALS 223.9 283.2 996 253.77 235.13 Hours of Operation 253.33 915.83 234.86 218.39 209.25 Megawatt Hours 223 658 136 144 157 No. of Irradiations 836 2643 644 556 607 No. of Samples Irradiated 1159.26 4171.12 1004.08 1057.82 949.96 User Hours I 4 9 I

No. Pulses > $1.00 0 4 I The cumulative energy output since criticality of the TRIGA core since 1967 is 915 Megawatt Days, The mixed core of FLIP and Standard fuels installed in 1976 has accumulated 649 Megawatt Days.

2 C. Emergency Shutdowns and Inadvertent Scrams There were no emergency shutdowns that occurred during the reporting period. The dates and causes of the 9 inadvertent SCRAMS are listed in Table II.

TABLE II Inadvertent SCRAMS 8/15/01 Operator unintentionally placed mode switch into 'Test' position.

10/16/01 Trainee placed mode switch into 'Pulse' position 12/12/01 Trainee placed mode switch into 'Test' position 1/10/02 Signal from new channel while testing in progress, no setpoint exceeded.

1/10/02 Same as Above.

1/10/02 Same as Above.

4/10/02 High Power Scram at 112%. Limit not exceeded.

5/13/02 High Power Scram while pulsing. Channel not set into 'zero-check' mode.

5/29/02 High Power Scram due to operator pressing trip test button, no setpoint exceeded.

D. Major Maintenance All other major maintenance performed were routine planned maintenance items, except for a full cleaning of the pulse rod cylinder and guide tube.

E. Changes, Tests and Experiments preformed Under 10 CFR 50.59 Criteria There was one major modification that began during the reporting period that was documented a

under 10 CFR 50.59 criteria; the old linear channel and safety channel 2 were replaced with was newer General Atomic linear channel and pulse and power channel. The old pulse channel left installed for comparison measurements.

F. Radioactive Effluent Discharges I. Radioactive Liquid Releases A total of 191.9 microcuries was released in 37381 liters of liquid during the reporting period. The releases are listed in Table III on Page 3.

3 TABLE III

2. Radioactive Gaseous Release During the reporting period, no significant quantity of any gaseous or particulate material with a half-life greater that eight days was released.

During the reporting period, at no time did the Argon-41 release exceed 20% of the Effluent Release Limit.

A total of 8.7 Curies of Argon-41 was released, with an average concentration of Argon 41 of 1.3 18x10-07 uCi/cc. The monthly releases are summarized in Table IV on Page 4.

4 TABLE IV Monthly Argon-41 Releases

% DAC Limit Quantity mCi Conc. Before  % Release Limit Before Dilution Before Dilution 2 Month Dilution, uCi/ml 0.016 649 1.1 8x1 0-7 4.74 Jul. 01 0.020 831 1.51x10-7 6.06 Aug. 01 0.017 688 5.02 Sep. 01 1.25x10-' 0.022 902 1.64x1 0-7 6.56 Oct. 01 0.024 979 1.78x10"7 4.71 Nov. 01 0.015 622 1.13x10"7 4.53 Dec. 01 0.0096 396 7.2x10 8 2.88 Jan. 02 7 0.019 787 1.43x10 5.72 Feb. 02 0.017 715 1.3x10 7 5.21 Mar. 02 0.016 671 1.22x10 7 4.88 Apr. 02 0.019 781 1.42x10-7 5.69 May. 02 7 0.016 677 1.23x10- 4.89 Jun. 02 1Based on 10 CFR 20 effluent release limit of 1.Ox10-8 uCi/ml for 41Ar (Table 2, Col. 1),

and a (20% of limit dilution factor of 4.0x10- 3 (S.A.R. 6.4.2) for a before dilution limit of 2.5x10-6 uCi/cc.

is 5.0x10-7 uCi/ml).

a dilution factor on 10 CFR 20 DAC limit of 3.0x10- uCi/ml for 41Ar (Table 1, Col. 3) and 2 Based 6 of 4.Ox 10-3 for a before dilution DAC limit of 7.5x 10-4 uCi/ml.

3. Radioactive Solid Waste Disposal Campus During the reporting period, the following solid waste was transferred to the Radiation Safety Office for packaging and disposal.

0.001 millicuries in 8 cubic feet of non-compacted solid waste.

waste.

7.5 millicuries in 15 cubic feet, (2 - 7.5 cuft barrels), of non-compacted solid G. Personnel and Visitor Radiation Exposures staff and experimenters The quarterly exposures of selected Nuclear Radiation Center reactor Page 5. The maximum who routinely utilize the W.S.U. reactor are given in Table V on quarterly exposure of a reactor staff member was 28 millirem, whole body.

during the reporting A total of 2168 individual persons visited the Nuclear Radiation Center by digital pocket period, of which 521 entered a Restricted Area. All exposures as determined dosimeter were less than 1 millirem.

5 A total of 18 group tours, consisting of 229 individuals, visited the Center during the reporting period. As determined by digital pocket dosimeter, all exposures were less than 1 millirem.

During Mom's Weekend, the reactor hosted 66 group tours, a total of 186 people, with all exposures less than 1 mrem.

TABLE V Quarterly Reactor and Experimenter Staff Exposure (in millirem)

Badge No. Jul-Aug-Sep 01 Oct-Nov-Dec 01 Jan-Feb-Mar 01 Apr-May-Jun 01 5855 13 28 6 5 5922 N/A N/A N/A 2 1035 12 14 N/A N/A 4045 0 0 2 0 6296 N/A 0 14 7 3497 0 0 0 1 587 0 5 3 N/A H. Reactor Facility Radiation and Contamination Levels The routine area radiation surveys of the building in non-reactor vital areas' had an average dose level of 0.075 mR/Hr., while routinely accessible reactor vital areas had an average dose level of 0.23 mR/Hr. The highest average dose level in a routinely accessible reactor vital area was 0.47 mR/Hr., which occurred in Room 201, Reactor Pool Room, south-side. The lowest average dose in a routinely accessible reactor vital area was 0.02 mR/fir., which occurred in Room 201A, the Reactor Shop area. The average dose in the Reactor Control Room was 0.043 mR/Hr. The average dose in the radiochemistry sample hoods was 0.78 mR/Hir. The highest average on site dose level was 11.6 mR/fir, which occurred in Room 2A, Cave Room, which is a locked storage area where radioactive material and radioactive sources are stored.

Routine building surveys for removable contamination in non-reactor vital areas' had an average vital areas was 2.95 xl 0-06 level of 4.65x1 0 °6 itCi/100 cm , while the average level in the reactor 2

WCi/100 cm . The highest average value in the 2 reactor vital areas was 1.03x 10-0 [.Ci/100 cm2 which was found on the sample drop tube. The lowest average value in the reactor vital areas was 1.2 x10-0 6 p.Ci/100 cm 2 which was in Room 201A, the Reactor Shop Floor. The average level of removable contamination in the radiochemistry hoods was 5.4 xl 0-05 pCi/l00 cm 2 .

' A non-reactor vital area is an area in the building where radioactive materials are used or stored but which is not a part of the Licensed reactor facility.

6 I. Environmental Monitoring Program The environmental monitoring program uses thermaluminecent dosimeters (TLD's) at locations both near and at distances around the reactor building facility. The quarterly exposures in the vicinity of the Nuclear Radiation Center are listed in Table VI. The average ambient gamma radiation levels for this area (80 mile radius) is 243 uRem/day as reported in the 30th Annual Report of the Environmental Radiation Program, Washington State Department of Health, Environmental Health Program, Table A- 12, page 131.

The values observed indicate there is no significant effect on the environment radiation levels due to reactor operation.

TABLE VI Environmental Radiation Levels in the Vicinity of the Nuclear Radiation Center' (Exposure in uRem/day)

Jul-Aug-Sep 01 Oct-Nov-Dec 01 Jan-Feb-Mar 01 Apr-May-Jun 01 Average 141.16 140.11 213.05 105.70 150.0 1For sampling stations located 25 meters or greater from the Nuclear Radiation Center.

Quarterly exposures at locations at the reactor facility are listed in Table VII on Page 7. No significant effect on the environmental radiation levels by reactor operation was noted.

7 TABLE VII Environmental Radiation Levels Adjacent to the Nuclear Radiation Center 1 (Exposure in uR/day)

Location Jul-Aug-Sep Oct-Nov-Dec Jan-Feb-Mar Apr-May-Jun Average E. Loading Dock 79 143 172 102 124 Rad. Storage Shed 206 241 1172 255 468 Rx Rm W. Secr. Gate 333 250 672 183 360 Cooling Tower Fence2 619 205 1000 244 517 Liquid Waste Tank 126 169 207 132 159 Building Roof West 142 142 172 102 140 Building W. Side 222 196 224 142 196 Rx. Room Exh. Vent 48 125 137 92 101 Rx. Room W. Vent 3 492 410 827 387 529 Pool Room E. Vent 301 294 482 255 333 Building Roof East 63 125 207 102 125 S. Bldg. Entrance 253 232 258 173 229 1For sampling stations located less that 25 meters from the Nuclear Radiation Center.

2 The large dose rates in January, February, and March at the Cooling Tower Fence and the Rad.

Storage Shed are due to the storage of a specific source by the university Radiation Safety Office.

The RSO estimates that the maximally exposed member of the public would have been in the exposed area for less than 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> a month during the time of source storage, and therefore would have received less than four millirems dose.

3 Pool Room West Vent. TLD on roof, directly above reactor core.

BOLD print locations indicate areas that are readily accessible by the public.

Technical Specifications ALARA effluent releases in 3.12(2) specify annual radiation exposures at the closest off-site extended occupancy shall not, on an annual basis, exceed the average local off-site background radiation level by more than 20%. For the reporting period, the average total background radiation level for sampling points 400 meters or greater from the facility was 150 uR/day, while the average total radiation level at the closest extended occupied area 930 meters away was 147 uR/day, indicating no significant exposure level above natural background.

Washington State University Nuclear Radiation Center PO Box 641300 Pullman, WA 99164-1300 509-335-8641 FAX 509-335-4433 August 29, 2002 Non-Power Reactors and Decommissioning Project Directorate Division of Reactor Program Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation One White Flint North 11555 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852-2738 Re: Docket No. 50-27; Facility License R-76

Dear Sir:

In accordance with the Technical Specifications for Facility License R-76 and the provisions of 10 CFR 50.59, paragraph (6), the attached Annual Report prepared by Stephanie L. Sharp, Reactor Supervisor of the WSU facility, is hereby submitted. The report covers the period July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2002.

Sincerely, Gerald E. Tripard Director GET/pw Enclosure cc: S.L. Sharp American Nuclear Insurers U.S. NRC, Document Control Desk