IR 05000020/1978006

IE Inspec 50-020/78-06 on 780927-29 During Which 1 Item of Noncompliance Was Noted.Reactor Safeguards Comm Meetings Were Too Infrequent

ML20150D598
Person / Time
Site:	MIT Nuclear Research Reactor
Issue date:	10/16/1978
From:	Greenman E, Stetka T NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I)
To:
Shared Package
ML20150D517	List: IR 05000020/1978006 ML20150D515 ML20150D536 ML20150D550 ML20150D573
References
50-020-78-06, 50-20-78-6, NUDOCS 7812060219
Download: ML20150D598 (7)

Text

{{#Wiki_filter:h * U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT Region I Report N /78-06 Docket N License N R-37 Priority -- Category F Licensee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT Research Reactor 138 Albany Street Cambridge, Massachusetts Facility Name: MITR II Inspection at: Cambridge, Massachusetts Inspection conducted: September 27-29, 1978 Inspectors: \/ ~

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T.'Stetka, Reactor Inspector

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bY +~ E. Greenman, Reactor Inspector

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  , ,   date signed Approved by:  .
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,/2. C. McCaba(Jr. , Chpf/, fea'ctor Projects  date signed Section No. 2, RO&Nk'BrMch Inspection Summary:

Inspection on September 27-29,1978 (Recort No. 50-20/78-06) Areas Inspected: Routine, unannounced inspection by two NRC regional based inspectors of licensee event report review (inoffice and onsite); surveillance; procedures; independent effort; and, turnover of project inspector responsibilit The inspection involved 32 inspector-hours on site by two NRC regional based inspector Results: Of the three areas inspected, no items of noncompliance were found in two areas; one item of noncompliance was identified in one area (Deficiency -

failure to conduct Reactor Safeguards Coninittee Meeting within required frequency -

l Detail 3).

781206ogq Region I Form 12 (Rev. April 77) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - _ _ _ - .

_ - ____-____ DETAILS 1. Persons Contacted

*J. Bernard, Day Shift Supervisor
*L. Clark, Jr., Director of Reactor Operations P. Coggio, Health Physics Technician
*K. Collins, Reactor Supervisor
*G. Dooley, Senior Operator
*0. Harling, Director of the Reactor Laboratory E. Karaian, Reactor Protection Officer The inspector also interviewed other licensee representatives including operations and office staff personne * denotes those present at the exit intervie . Previous Inspection Item Update (0 pen) Unresolved Item (78-03-03): Requalification Examinations are scheduled for October 28, 1978. Grading and administration will be reviewed subsequent to completion of exams by licensed individual (Closed) Unresolved Item (78-03-02): The licensee filed a supple-mental LER (Report No. 50-20/78-2A, dated June 28,1978),which addressed actions planned to preclude similar type failures. The

, ! inspectors also reviewed purchase orders for a new flow / differential temperature system and automatic control circuit. Additional chambers and instrumentation are being procure The inspectors had no further questions regarding this item.

I 3. MIT Reactor Safeauards Committee Meetinas

The MITRSC met on July 12,1977 (Meeting No. 57) and September 6, 1978 (Meeting No. 58) and the minutes were reviewed by the inspector Minutes indicated committee identification of late completion of the annual report and biannual review of the security plan. The annual report was submitted to the NRC September 12, 1978 (due date August 30,1978). As of the date of this inspection, the biannual review of a security plan was in progress. The licensee stated that this review will be completed by November 30, 1978. This is, an unresolved item (78-06-01). Review of minutes for Meeting - Nos. 57 and 58 indicated that meetings were held at a frequency in excess of one year, which is contrary to TS 7.5.2(f) and constitutes a Deficiency level item of noncompliance (78-06-02).

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3 Review of Annual Report - The Annual Report f or the period July 1,1977 to June 30,1978, for the MIT Research Reactor was reviewed. Review included verification that information specified in the Technical Specifications has been reporte With the exception of the late submittal of this report, as identified in paragraph 3, no unacceptable conditions were identifie i Nonroutine Event Review The inspector reviewed the following nonroutine events, both inoffice and onsite, for safety significant circumstances and relationship to Technical Specification protective limits. The licensee's review, evaluation and corrective action was also verified by inspector review and observatio LER Number Description 50-20/78-03 Auxiliary Intake Damper failed to close during testing. The inspector con-firmed that all corrective action had been complete ' 50-20/78-04 Two Valves in the Emergency Cooling System were left misaligned following testin The inspector confirmed that all, corrective action had been complete The referenced LERs had not yet been 7 viewed by the Safeguards Com-mittee. A cognizant licensee repr- tive stated that this review would be accomplished at the next j scheduled for November,197 This item (78-06-03) is unresolved , Facility Tour The inspector toured various areas of the facility including the control room; equipment room; reactor room operating floor; shops and process areas; and, exterior areas to determine the general state of cleanliness, housekeeping and adherence to fire protection guidelines. Minimum licensed operator complement requirements were verified. Nuclear instru mentation operability requirements, flow limits and power level parameters were also confirmed. No unaccept-able conditions were identifie _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - _ _ __

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7. Facili: Procedure Review ' The inspector reviewed the licensee's ad.ninistrative guidance and verified that responsibilities of operators and senior operators were established via procedures, including changes, approvals and levels of subsequent review. The foliowing pro-cedures were reviewed:

- PM-II,1.3-1, Authority and Responsibility for Safe Operations, dated December 14, 1973;
- PM-II,1.4-1, Review and Approval of Plans, Procedures, and Facility Equipment and Changes Thereto, dated April 9,1974; and,
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PM-II, 1.5-1, Procedure Adherence and Temporary Change Method, dated September 14, 197 No unacceptabit .onditions were identifie The inspector reviewed the following procedures for technical adequacy and conformance with Technical Specification require-ments:

- PM-II, 2.2-6, Nonroutine Reactor Startup, dated March 8, 1975 and Checklist PM 3.1.4, dated February 13, 1978;
- PM-II, 2.4-3, Restart After Unscheduled Shutdown, dated March 24, 1977 and Checklist PM 3.1.6, Restart from Unanticipated Shutdown, dated December 21, 1977;
- PM-II, 2.3, Continuous Power Operation, dated March 8, 1975 and Checklist PM 3.5, Daily Checklist, dated August 9, 1977; and,
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PM-II, 3.7.1, Security Weekly Checklist, dated April 24, 197 The inspectors walked through partial portions of Checklists PM 3.5 and PM-II, 3.7.1, identified above, and verified step-by-step that the procedures accomplished their intended purpose and were the latest revisio No unacceptable conditions were identifie ;

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3. Limiting Conditions of Operations (LCO) Review The following operating conditions were observed during the plant tour and record reviews: Parametar TS Limit Obseryed Value Primary Coolant Flow > 1800 gpm 2100 gpm (10/RR) Reactor . Thermal Power 5 MW 4.7 MW (10/RR) Pool Water Level > 4 inches below At overflow pipe (IO) overflow pipe Primary Coolant Outlet < 60'C 48 C (10/RR) Temperature Shim Rod Position Within 2" of Bank Within 0.2" of Position Bank Position (10) Scram Insertion Time < l.0 sec to 80% < 0.7 sec for of Full Insertion all control blades (RR) Recombiner Middle > 50 C 105 C (IO) Temperature Radiation Monitors Operable Operable (IO/RR) Containment Building < 3.0" Ho0 1.9" H 2O (RR) Overpressure Scram 10 - Inspector observation of process instrumentatio RR - Record review by inspecto No items of noncompliance were identifie . Surveillance Review The following surveillance procedures were reviewed to verify that the procedures were adequate to accomplish their intended function and meet Technical Specification requirements:

- PM 6.1.2.5, Charcoal Filter Efficienc3 Test, dated November 6, 1975. Data was reviewed for tests performed on May 22,1978 and November 14, 197 .

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- PM 6.1.4.4, Primary Coolant Flow Scram Time, dated June 4,197 Data was reviewed for'the test performed on February 29, 197 PM 3.1.1.2, section entitled, Magnet Currents, dated March 30, 1978. Data was reviewed for tests performed on September 26, 1978, September 19, 1978, September 12, 1978, September 5,1978, August 29, 1978 and August 22, 197 PM -6.1.3.3, Primary Coolant Flow Scram Calibration, dated J'ine 4, 1975. Data was reviewed for test performed on February 27, 197 PM 2.3.2, Thermal Power Calibration, dated March 8, 1975. Data was reviewed for calibrations performed for the months of August and September,197 PM 6.1.4.1, Nuclear Safety System Response Time, dated May 24, 1977. Data was reviewed for test performed or. March 4, 197 PM 3.1.1.2, section entitled, Process System Scram Checks, dated May 2, 1978. Data was reviewed for checks performed on September 26, 1978, September 19, 1978, September 12, 1978, September 5,1978, August 29, 1978 and August 22, 197 PM 6.1.3.9.1, Water Monitor Calibration Procedure, dated May 24, 1977. Data was reviewed for checks performed on February 27, April 24, May 13, June 19 and August 24, 197 No items of noncompliance were identifie . Primary System The licensee has completed installation of a third primary coolant
- to secondary coolant heat exchanger. Amendment No. 14 to License R-37 authorizing this change was issued by the NRC on August 25, 1978. Preoperational test procedures had not been written and approved as of the date of this inspection. The inspectors re-viewed documentation associated with the purchase of this unit from a foreign manufacturer. The new heat exchanger is equivalent to one of the existing units. This area is unresolved pending review of procedures, the preoperational test 3rogram and applicable l requirements for the heat exchanger inc'iuding welder qualifications (78-06-04).   .
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11. Unresolved Items Unresolved items are those items for which further information is required to determine whether they are acceptable items or items of noncompliance. Unresolved Items are contained in Paragraph 3, 5 and 100f this repor . Exit Interview The inspector met with licensee repre.sentatives (denoted in para-graph 1) at the conclusion of the inspection on September 29, 197 The inspector summarized the scope and findings of the inspection as they are detailed in this report. During this meeting, the unresolved items and the item of noncompliance were identifie ;

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