ML20059B571

Annual Rept on Operation of Washington State Univ Triga Reactor for Jul 1989 - June 1990

ML20059B571
Person / Time
Site:	Washington State University
Issue date:	06/30/1990
From:	Wilson W WASHINGTON UNIV., ST. LOUIS, MO
To:	NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM)
References
NUDOCS 9008290160
Download: ML20059B571 (9)

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Washington <

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, - !q , Nuclear Radiation Centor. Pullman, Washingtorr 99164-1300 / 509-335-8641 y

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August-21, 1990 Document Control Desk-U.S. Nuc1 car Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555 Re: Docket No. 50-27; Facility License R-76

Dear Sir:

In acci edance 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 Jerry A. Neidiger, Reactor Supervisor of the WSU facia lity, is hereby submitted. The report covers the period from July 1, 1989.

to June 30, 1990.

Sincerely, MdWh W. E. Wilson Associate Director Enclosure cc: NRC, Region V, Office of Regional Administrator J.A. Neidiger 1

American Nuclear Insurers WEW: crc

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PDR ADOCK 05000027 I_ ___. N

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7" , ANNUAL REPORT ON'THE OPERATION OF'THE I

, WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY.TRIGA REACTOR 4

! Facility License R-76 for the Reporting = Period of ,

July 1,1989 to June 30, 1990 1

A. Narrative Summary of the Year's Oper i.ED

1. Operating Experience

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The Washington State University Reactor has accumulated 463 Megawatt hours on Core 32 A during the reporting period. A total of 437.

h irradiations for a total of 5965 samples were performed,- In addition, 7 pulses' greater thar $1,00 of reactivity addition were performed during this reporting period. The quarterly operations I summaries are shown in' Table I, section B.

L 2. The following changes to reactor operating procedures relating to reactor safety were submitted as amendments to the license of the g Washington State University modified TRICA.I.eearch reactor during y- the reporting period; n a. Revised Table 3.2 that reflects proposed change in the maximum power (level of the reactor, b, Revised specification 3,14(3) which sets (1) maximum curie limit of 100,000 curies, specific location and encapsulation design on sealed sources stored in the= reactor' pool, (2)-

. Reactor Safeguards Committee approval of all sealed sources stored and used in the reactor pool,--and-(3) monthly requirement of radionuclide monitoring of the' reactor pool for sealed source leakage detection,

c. .The maximum verification interval'for proposed technical specification 4,3,3; change from 60, days to 45. days.

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

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'B. Eneryv and Cumulative Output

'J- The quarterly operations summaries are given in Table I on Page 2.

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TABLE I.-

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,[ iFiscal, Year Summary of Reactor Operations; .

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r Hours of' Operation 102 118 98 162 '480 '

. Megawatt Hours. 94 -115' 94 160' 463 w No. of Irradiations, 75 92 76 194 437e , ,

No.co f Samples Irradiated '1349 949 1511- -2106 5965 .j SNo. PulsenJ> $1.00 0- 2 -2 .3 ;7 .t m .

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Tlie: cumulative energy output since criticality of the 'TRICA ' core'.since 1967 < j is 646 Megawatt Days,- The mixed core of FLIP and Standard fuels' installed-

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-in 1976.has accumulated 385 Megawatt Days.

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. 1 C. ' Emereenev Shutdowns and Inadvertent-Scrams j

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.'During-the reporting period, there were no emergency shutdowns.hThe:cause- 1 of the.1 1nadvertent 3 scram that occurred during tha-reporting'. period.is.. l. {

given"in Table-II below. , P J

TABLE II .  !

[ Inadvertent Scrams j h!

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'DATE CAUSE j

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, 09/21/89 Electronic-spii dafety Channel #2 while: reactor ar=80%i 4 4

1 power.  !,

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. D. tiajor Maintenance p- ..

03/18/90 Low worth Servo control element. position indicator.not-working, Rebuilt and repaired since no replacement pt- s are available.

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.06/27/90 -Reactor. pool level alarm float switches repositioned in: reactor  ;

g 9- pool to allow easier access for testing and maintenance.

All other majo'r maintenance performed was routine planned maintenance-L,- items.

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E .- Chances. Tests and Fgperiments Performed Under 10 CFR 50.50 Criteria =

One-item was conducted and documented under 10 CFR 50.59 criteria during-the reporting perfod.- 4 Installation of a 4 inch drain line~and a;3/4 inch cold water line between the Reactor Pump Room (201C) and the Radiation Safety Office's waste processing shed for a drain line_and water _ supply for a decontamination "

shower. The installation required the jackhammering of a 12 1-ch hole in the pump room's north wall, installation-of the dVain and water lines, and then patching the wall. ,The shower drain line empties-into a floor hot.

, drain-in the pump room.

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F. Radioactive Effluent Discharces 1 ~. Radioactive Liquid' Releases During the reporting peri liquidwaste'was2.51x10'gd,theaveragereleaseconcentrationof:

microcuries per milliliter. This yielded.

a total of 4.57 microcuries released in 181,913 liters of liquid.

The monthly releases are listed in Table III below.

TABLE III Radioactive Liquid Releases Quantity, Concentration, Volume, Month uCi uCi/ml Percent MPC Liters Jul. NO- RELEASE Aug. 1.37 7.51x10-8 75.1- .18;204 Sep, 0.18 9.68x10'9 9.7 '18,213 Oct. 0.03 1.44x10'9 1.4 18,224 Nov. NO RELEASE Dec. 0.09 5.08x10'9 5.1 18,323 Jan. 0.11 2.90x10'9 2.9 36,052 Feb. 0.23 1.25x10-8 12.5 18,618 Mar. 0.51 2.93x10-8 29.3 17,287-Apr. 0.26 1,41x10'8 14.1 18,196 May, 1.80 9.90x10-8 99.0 18,196 Jun. NO RELEASE 1 Based on a release limit of 1.00x10'7 uCi/ml for unknown mixture found in Technical Specifications 6.10, paragraph 5, page 36.

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• I M2, Radioactive Gaseous Releaso

' During the reporting period, no significant quantity of :any' gaseous .

-or particulate material with a half life greater.that'eight days was released.

h During the reporting period,;at no time did the release exceed 20% of MPC for Argon 41.--

TheaveragemonthlyconcentrationofArgon41 uci/cc. releasedin^was7,95x]'0

This yielded a total of 5,31 Curies released 6,70x10 cc-of. air. The monthly. releases are summarized in Table IV below, TABLE IV Monthly Argon-41 Releases s

Concentration Before Percent MPCI- ;Quan_tity Month Dilution, uCi/cc After Dilution = mci Jul, 8.25x10-8 0.83 .468' Aug ~, . 8.12x10'8 0,81 460 Sop, 8 8.34x10 0.83 458 Oct. 8.13x10' 8 0.81 461 Nov. 1.01x10~7 1,01 554' Doc, 8,06x10-8 0,81 '457

-Jan, 9,04x10-8 0.90 513 Feb. 7,08x10'8- 0.71' 362' Mar, 6.96x10-8 0.70 395' Apr. 6,40x10-8 0,64 351:

May, 7.95x10-8 0.80 451.

Jun. 6.93x10'8 0,69 380-

-1 Based on 10 'CFR 2011mit of 00xid uM/cc Game H, {ol, U , aM dilutiogfactorof4.0x10'3(S.A.R.6.4.2gforanafterdilutionlimitof 1,0x10' uCi/cc. (20% of limit is 2.0x10' uCi/cc).

3. Radioactive Solid Waste Disposal For waste generated by the Nuclear Radiation Center during the reporting period, one-shipment was made to U.S. Ecology Company in.

Richland,-Washington for disposal. An estimated of 1,15 mil 11 curies in 7.5 compacted cubic feet was shipped in one 55 gallon ' drum. The shipment is tabulated in Table V on Page 5.

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TABLE V W.S.U.', N.R.C. Solid Radioactive Waste Disposal Date Volume in Cubic Feet . Activity in Millicuries 08/03/89 7.5 1.15 G. Personnel and Visitor Radiation Exposures

.The average-quarterly exposures of Nuclear Radiation Center reactor staff and experimenters whofroutinely utilize the W.S.U. reactor are given in Table VI below. The maximum quarterly exposure of one individual, who is a reactor staff member and who routinely prepares irradiated samples for shipment and' calibrates radiation survey meters, was 30 millirem, whole body.

A total of 2248 non-Nuclear Radiation Center staff or experimenter

. individuals visited the Center during the reporting period. out of which 936 enter posted Radiation Areas. As determined by digital poulet '

dosimeter and an exposure recorded, the average individual exposure was

<1.0 millirem with a; maximum exposure of 2 millirem.

A total of 43 group tours, consisting of 615 individuals, visited the Center during the reporting period. As determined by digital pocket dosimeter and an exposure recorded, the averago group exposure was <0.1 millirem 'with a maximum of 0.4 millirem. l TABLE VI Average Quarterly Reactor.and Experimenter Staff Exposure (in millirem) 1 1

Jul-Aug-Sep Oct-Nov Dec Jan-Feb-Mar Apr-May-Jun 1 5.0 5.0 2.5 <1 1

June's film badge results not available from the vendor at the time this report was prepared, t

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W g., _ H .' Reactor Facility Radiation and Contamination Levels "be ~ Thergutinearearadiationsurveysofthe; building.innonreactorvital.

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areas had an average. dose level.of 0.03 mR/Hr,, while routinely accessible reactor vital. areas had an average dose level of 0.68 mR/Hr. The. highest average dose level in a routinely accessibic reactor vital area was 2,19 mR/Hr.. which occurred in Room 201, East Pool, Room.

The lowest average 1 dose in a routinely accessible! reactor vital area was-0.03 mR/Hr., which-4 occurred in Room 201A, the~ Reactor Shop' area; The average dose in-the Reactor Control Room was 0,03 mR/Hr. 'The= average dose in the  ;

radiochemistry sample hoods was 0.19 mR/Hr.- The~ highest average on site- #

dose level was 14.46 mR/Hr..which occurred in Room 2A, Cave Room, which is '

a locked storage P.rca where radioactive material and sources are stored, i Routigebuildingsurveys;forremovable " **

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areas had an average level of 0.5x10'5 uCi/

k levelinthereactorvitalareaswas0.6x10'j00cm,whi}etheaverage uCi/100 '

-average value in the reactor vital areas.was 38,6x10'5 *Ci/100 u cmhE" which was found ~ on platform where ' experimenters stand to insert and withdraw ,i their samples from the Thglowestaveragevalueinthereactor vitalareaswas0.9x10'geactor.

uCi/100 cm which was in Room 201, the. Reactor Pool Room floor. The average level of amination in the radiochemistry.samplehoodswas0.7x10'gemovableco uCi/100 cm

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

o Y 1. Environmental-Monttorine Procram The environmental monitoring program uses thermolminescent dosimeters

, (TLD's) at locations both near and at distances around the reactor building y, facility. The quarterly exposures in the vicinity of the Nuclear Radiation, ,

m Center are listed in Table VII on Page 7. The average ambient gamma

' radiation levels for this area (80 mile radius).is 94 mrem /yr, (258 uR/ day) as reported in the 25th Annual Report of the Environmental Radiation Program, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.

The values observed indicate there is no significant effect on the environment radiation levels due to reactor operation, 4

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' Environmental'

Vicinity Radiation of the Nuclec. LevelsCenter "sdiation in'the~1

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f (ExposureLin uR/ day) _

t TJul;Aug-Sep. 9 'l Oct-Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar. lApr May-Jun-  ; Median.

o y , 136 ~1363 156. t- 143

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Radiation: center.

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Apr May-Jun TLD data not-available from TLD vendornat'the time this. I report wastprepared.

Quarterly exposures at readily accessible locations:at.the reactor facility.

are-listed'in, Table VIII below. No significant-effect on the environmental radiationflevels/byLreactor operation was noted, j-.

TABLE VIII I

Environmental RadiationLLevels ~ Adj a(cent-J ,

to-the Nuclear Radiation Center, ,

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Location 1 Jul- Aug-Sep Oct-Nov-Dec Jan-Feb Mar- Apr-May-Jun2 Median

.y, S. Bldg.. Entrance 162 162 198 -

174 E., Loading Dock 143 143 198 -

161' z,

. Pool Rm.~ Vent' Stack 114. 114 140 -

123 3

' Building W.' Roof 138 138' 186 -

154' j Rad. Storage Shed 214~ 214 302 -

243 Building N. Side 147 147 186 -

160 (

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' Beam Room W.. Door. .157- 157 198 -

171

' Building W. Side 157 157 209 -

174 Pool Room W. Roof' 286 286 453 -

342 Pool Room.E. Roof 205 "

205 4

302 -

237 1

For sampling stations located less that 50 meters of the Nuclear

-Radiation Center. '

2 Apr May-Jun TLD data not available from TLD vendor at the time this report was prepared.

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Technical. Specifications'ALARA effluent' releases:in'3.12(2) specify annual radiation exposures at the closest offsite extended occupancy shall not, on an annual basis, exceed the average local offsiteLbackground radiation level by.more'than 20%. For the 1st three quarters of the reporting period, the average background radiation level for-sampling points:400 meters or greater from.the facility was 185 uR/ day. The average radiation lavel at the closest extended occupied area 380' meters away was 191 uR/ day, which yields a ratio of -3.1%, indicating no.significant exposure: level above natural background. For the four quarters of: calendar year 1988, the average background radiation-level was 185 uR/ day, while the exposure to the same closest offsite area was 181uR/ day, This yields a ratio of:

exposure to background of 2.1%, again indicating no significant exposure above natural background.