ML20118A725

Annual Rept for Ohio State Univ Research Reactor for 910701 Through 920630

ML20118A725
Person / Time
Site:	Ohio State University
Issue date:	06/30/1992
From:	Weislogel S OHIO STATE UNIV., COLUMBUS, OH
To:	NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM)
References
NUDOCS 9209250194
Download: ML20118A725 (9)

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}j- 1: 1-:rgineerinr, lhperiment Station 142 liitt hco(L llall 070 Neil Avenue O ' MmO Columbus,01141210-1275 Phone 614-292-4903

• } FAX # 61432 9021 a

lINI\'IEll Y Sep t emtie r 10, 1992 l

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Doeomont Control Desk Nur lear Re}pt.1a t ory Comm i as 100 l Washingion DC 20555 l 1

Dear Sir Please fitpl encionmi the annual report for The Ohio S t a t e liniversi t y Research Reactor, Docket No. 50-150. Thin report is being submittert as  ;

respi' rm! hy onr Technical Spec i f f ra t ion, Sect ion 6.6.1, if you have quest ions on the content of this report, please contact Mr Richard Myser, Associale Dirertor of the Nucleur Reactor 1aboratory.

S i n c.e r e l y ,  !

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.i Stacy Wel el Acting Director j SW/lv enclosure c Nuclear Retpilatery Commission Region Ill (w/ene.)

Theodore S. Michaels (w/ene.)

9,10 0 f i 9209250194

>DR 920630 E ADOCK 05000130 PDR College of Engincenng )'[L/

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Int roduct ion As stated in The Ohio sta*e University Research Reactor.Technica]

Specifications, Section 6.6.1 Operating Reports, an annual report shall be

.aade to the NRC ny September 30 of each year, This reposi. i., to include the.

following seven sections.

( .1 ) A narrative summary of operating expet lence '(including experiments performed) and of changes in facility design,

. performance characteristics, and operating procedures related to i reactor safety occurring during the reporting period.

j (2) A tabajation showing the energy geoernted by the reactor (in I kilowatt hours) and the number of hours the reactor was in use.

(3) The result s of safety- related maintenance and inspections. The

-reasons for corrective maintenance of safety related items shall be included.

(4) A table of unscheduled shutdowns and Inadvertent scrams, including their reasons and the cortective actiens taken.

(5) A summary of changes to the facility or procedures, which atfeet reactor safety, and performance of tests or experiments carried out under the conditions of Section 50.50 of 10CRF50.

(ii) A summary of the nature and amount of radioactive gaseous, 11guld and solid effluents released or discharged to the environs beyond the ef fective control of the licensee as i

measured or calculated at or prior to the point-of such release or-discharge.

(7) A summary of-radiation exposurcs received by-facility personnel and visttors, including the dates and times of significant exposures.

These seven sections are discussed below. These are all for the period July 1, 1991 through June 30, 1992 except as noted for exposure records.

7 (1) A. Fxper iment s Performed The staff of The OSU Research Reactor are generally . involved in four types of experiments at the Nuclear Reactor haboratory.

Included are introductions to nuclear research, neutron activation un'alysis, material i rradiations, and classes that measure various reactor parameters. Additionally, this year we began 500 KW operation.

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Typically when we introduce students,' faculty, or other

, experimenters to nuclear research we'do-the following:

a Discuss. nuclear reactions:and radiological safety, b.. Operate the' reactor at'10KW - 100 KW,

c. Have the individuals observe-control room operations aad

d. Complete a tour and demonstration of irradlation. techniques.

Neutron activatioh analysis experiments are routinely.

r,ompleted for students ranging from high school to graduate school. The_ facilities normally utilized are the

" rabbit" (pneumat ic tube) _and _ t he "CIP" (Central Irradiation Facility). ~The majority'of the NAA work 's biological samples. Trradiations are typically im longer than eight hours.

Material irradiat-lons, other than for NAA, are in'four basic areas: isotope production, detector, electronic component, and fiber optic test.ing; beton neutron capture therapy (RNCT); and~1rradiation-of biological samples. Isotope. product ion is ext remely limit ed. Only two irradiations (specifically for Isotope production) were complete 1 in the last year. Detector and electronic component testing ir done more routinely. -This testing is usually completed in the therma.1 celumn, or one of the _

- beam ports,while fisalon chamber testing is in the rentral irradiation Facility. 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 biological sample-Irradiationa for research projects but currently are-not epproved to do any anjmal irradiations.

Various nuclear engineering or_ physics classes throughcut Ohio utilize the reactor for the followin; basic experiments:

a. Approacn to critical (usinh banked control rods

- rather than fuel loading)

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

c. Measurement of the Reactor Transfer function.

d'. Volo coefficient' measurements and

e. Radiological surveys.

On Novemtier 14, 1990 the OSURR Licease was aihended to allow 500 KW operation. Installation of the in-pool portion of th_e heat removal system was completed in June, ,

1991. The core loading was increased to 3821.65 g on J'.aly

i. 16,-1991 with a measured excess reactivity of 2.34%.

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Operations at greater =than 10 KW began on September 18,-1991--aul

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- full power operation at:500 KW first took place on December 19.-

1991.

' The reaetor utilizetion for luly 1, _ 1991 through June 30, 1992 is summarized in-the following luarterly reports.

Utilization Report-July 1 - September 30, 1991 Description Hours Power increase Activitles 32.0 including core load to increase excess reactivity to 2.04.6, control rod calibratiot., e,nd

-power callbration Nii744 Laboratory sessions 75.0 including control rod calibrations, vold measurements -transfer functlon, power calibration, and temperature icedback Reuter Stokes Fission Chamber Testing 28.0 Fiber Optics Fsesearch 10.0 2

11NCT (lloron Neutron Capture Therapy) 9,0 Ar-41 Production for inntrument 3,0 -

Calibration for Victureen and NHli Reactor Tours and Workshops 13.0 Seed Irradiation for OSU Biotechnology- 2.0 Power increase Monitoring at 10 KW 8.0 and 50KW Total 180.0 October 1 - December 31, 1991- -a De s c r s ",t i on Hours Powet increase Activities 30.75 including radiation monitoring, power calibration, and detector-

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_. - Reut er Stokes Fissf ori Chamber Testing '45.00 Class i.aboratory=and Demonstrations 8.50 including NE641, Pharmacy 800, and irradiations for classes from outalde  ;

OSU Touts 9.25

. Transistor Testing for NASA 40 25 including transistor holder testing irradiation of ltiological Material G.00 for Kent State University Fiber Optics Research 5,50 Isotope.Pcoductinn for Victureen and 2.25-  ;]

. NRL Calibrations j l

Total 145.50 )

b January 1 - March 31 1992-In*scelotinn Hour 3 Henctor Power: Increase' Activities 8.5 Reuter Stokes Fission Camber Testing 27.0 i

iso Tex i- 125 Production Evaluation 16.0 -

Reactor Sharing Kent State University 10.0 NAA cf Zooplankton for Na OSU Nuclear Engineering, BNCT in 25.0 Thermal Column

. . NE793 Power Calibration 16

• NE84F Noise Analysia 17.0 Reactor Sharing, Approach to 25.0 >

Critical Experiments Tours and ::emonstrations 4,0 Total 140,0

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April 1 . lune 30, 1992 Doncriptlon 11ou r s Hequalitication Exam Operations 4.0 Reut er Stokes Fissien Chamber Teating 51.0 Terra Technical College Experiments 15.0 BNCT Experiments 12.0 NAA for Kr at State University 3.0 NAA for Ober)In College 7.0 Young town Stat e liniversity 2.0 approach t o critical .

NE720 Dynamic Reactor Behav. lor 2.0 Tours aint Demenst rations 12.0 Total 103.0 (1)B. Channe. in racilit y Design There were no facility design changes that required changes to the 6t< ,

o r 'rechnical Specifications. 10CFR50.59 changes are described in Section 5.A. The changes to t h: SAR and Technical Specifications necessary for the power increase to 500 KW were approved by the NRC on November 14, 1990.

(1)C. Channes in Performance Characteristics There have been no changes in performance charact. eristics related to reactor safety in the last year However, the Reactor Staff and completed Technical Spcelfication modifications to allow a power increase from 10 KW to 500 KW. These E,ecificatlons were approved by the Reactor Operations Committee and submitted to the NRC on June 12, 1990. They were approved by the NHC on November 14, 1990.

Operattons at 500 KW began December 19, 1991.

(1)D. Channes in operatinn procedures lhere was one change in operating procadure related to reactor '

safety in the last year (10CFR50.59 changes are described in Section (5)R.) This change was made to IM -03, OSURR pre-Start Checkout, in response to the reportable occurrence of January 9, 1992 discussed in (3) below. The change required the operator to check detector ilV as a part of pre-start surveillance

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(2)'A, Kilowatt ilours of Operat ion - 21,424 B. Hours of Utilizatinn 584.5 (3) Safety Related Maintennnre Routine preventive maintenance and inspections by the reactor staff did reveal one reportable safety related item. it was reported to the NRC as required by Terenica1 Specification G.5.2(3). This 1 tem described the fa!IJ e on January 9, 1992 of one of the Level Safety systems to perform its . intended function. Appropriate corrective action was taken. This was reviewed by the OSU Reactor Operations Commit t ee on January 24, 1992 During a subsequent NRC inspectinn of May 2G 28, 1992 this item was closed out.

(4) Unscheduled,jilhutdowns _

From July 1, 1991 to June 30, 1992 there were a total of twenty unplanned arrams. One was from operator error, the rem.inder were instrument related. These are summarized below:

R,eason corrective Actton A. Operator Error (1) None Required B. t'ission Chamber (15) Replaced switch on Switch caused Fission Chamber Drive spuriot,s signal with surge suppressor c j rcu.i t C Instrumentation (4) New conduit installed cables accidentally bumped or ins t rt.mentat ion turned on during operatton u (5) C ha n e.e s in Facility procedures, ano performance of Tests or Experiments in Accordance with 10CFR50.59 A. During the 1,eriod .iuly 1, 1991 to June 30, 1992 one C5tiRR Mou l i ca t t on Ra'1tn's t was completed by the Reactor Staff and appreved by the Reactor Operations Committee, and one new experiment was approved by the ROC These did not require license or technical specification changes or result in an unreviewed safets question per 10CFR50.59. These are describ2d below.

1. Replaced the Log Count Rate Modn'. with a comparable Lin Log Ratemeter

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. 2. - Approvedi a feasibil1 ty st udy _ on- t he Productinn of 15125._

a B.'The following je a l4st of Procedure changes made under i

.10CFRSO.59 from July-1 1991 to June 30, 1992 in accordance with Adminiuttative Procedure AP-05 Format for Writing, Reviaing, and i

-Approving Procadures, Procedure ' Procedure Revielan Revision Number Title Number Date OM-01 Reactor Power Changes 4 4/23/92 OM-07 Fue1 Element inspections 2 2/13/91 RS-09 Area Radiatlon Surveys 3 5/14 '92

, IM 93 OSURR f.: Ziart Checkout -8 -2/25/92 IM-04 Post Shutdown Checkout 6 4/09/92 EP-01 Emergency Procedures G 5/14/02 (G) Radina;&lve Effluents 1 A. Gaseous Effluent - The only effluent w.e measure is the release of A r -41, A new procedure to directly measure Ar-41 releases was '

implemented starting October 1, 1989. The measured value for the period July 1, 1991 to June 30, 1992 was 0.032% of MPC relensed to the unrestricted area.

B. Liquid Releases - The reactor pool was not drained during this reporting period, There were-no releases through the " hot" sink.

C. Solid Releases - No releases of- solid :'adioactive material were made to the uncontrolled environment.

(7) A. Radiatton Exposures S.ince the firm that maintains records for The' Ohio State University keeps _a year to date record it la easier to report this by the nearest completed calendar year, Therefore f.ilm hadge exposures in-this report are for'the period January 1 to December 31, 1991. Six individuals were monitored aa radiation workers for the entire v ar. These are tabulated below. They are consistent with the AhARA policy for The Ohio State University and represent a small fraction of the allowed limits.

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. Indiv i dua l-. Whole Body (Walst): R i gh t -- Left peep -9 hallow Finger Finner l

1. 160 160 M M; I I1. 130 130 100 80

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III, 180 180 '460- ~550  ;

'I; IV. 40 40 - -

V. 400 400 650 480 i VI. 170- 170 700- 970-All doaes in millirem. M denotes less that minimum detectable level for-monitoring device, - denotes no monitoring. J B. !n additton to the above individuals, all visitors and experimenters are monitored. 'These individuals are normally issued-

. Visitor or spare film badges. hesults of these exposures ara-tabulaterl below.

Visitors (10 badges)

,- All less than 50 millirem for the year Spares (13 badges)

All less than.60 millirem for the year p

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