ML14093A189

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Submittal of Annual Report for Nuclear Test Reactor (Ntr), 2013

ML14093A189
Person / Time
Site:	Vallecitos Nuclear Center
Issue date:	03/31/2014
From:	Krause D R GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
DRK-2014-006
Download: ML14093A189 (9)

Text

0 HITACHIGE Hitachi Nuclear EnergyDonald R. KrauseRegulatory Compliance Program ManagerRadiation Safety Officer,Vollecitos Nuclear Center6705 Vallecitos RdSunol, CA 94586USA31 March 2014T 925 862 4360F 925 304-7435Donald.Krouse@ge.com Ltr. No. DRK-2014-006 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission One White Flint North11555 Rockville PikeRockville, Maryland 20852-2738 Attn: Document Control Desk

Enclosure:

Annual Report for NTR, 2013License R-33, Docket 50-73Annual Report No. 54Enclosed is the Annual Report No. 54 for the GE-Hitachi Nuclear Test Reactor (NTR) located atVallecitos Nuclear Center in Sunol, California.

If you have questions regarding this request or additional information is required, pleasecontact me using the contact information above.Sincerely, Donald R. Krause,Regulatory Compliance Program ManagerDigitally signed by DonaldR. KrauseDate: 2014.03.31 10:1 6:59-07'00'cc: Xiaosong Yin, NRC (email)Daniel Thomas, GEH VNCThomas Caine, GEH VNC 0HITACHIGE HitachiNuclear EnergyVollecitos Nuclear Center6705 Vollecitos RdSunol, CA 94586USANUCLEAR TEST REACTORANNUAL REPORT NO. 54FOR THE YEAR 2013LICENSE R-33DOCKET 50-73MARCH 2013 NTR Annual Report No. 54GE Hitachi Nuclear Test ReactorAnnual Report No. 54This report summarizes the operations,

changes, tests, experiments, and major maintenance at the GE Hitachi (GEH) Nuclear Test Reactor (NTR}, which were authorized pursuant toLicense R-33, Docket 50-73, and 1OCFR50, Section 50.59, for the period of January 1, 2013through December 31, 2013.I. GeneralSpecific information about the operation of the NTR during the reporting period is presented as follows:> IN 2013 there were 255 reactor startups with the reactor operating at or abovecritical for 948 hours0.011 days <br />0.263 hours <br />0.00157 weeks <br />3.60714e-4 months <br />. Total power generation equaled 934.5 EFPH; equivalent to 3.89MW days. The majority of this time was spent in the performance of approvedexperiments, either neutron radiography or small sample irradiations for forensicevaluations.The highest radiation exposure to any worker at NTR was 0.786 Rem.> There was one unplanned shutdowns of the reactor in 2013. This shutdown isdiscussed in Section V.> There were no occurrences that required notification of the NRC during 2013.II. Organization The details of changes in the status of personnel, which occurred during the reporting period, are described as follows:Mr. Daniel Thomas continued as Manager NTR performing licensed SRO activities andradiography NDT Level III activities.

Mr. Thomas McConnell continued performing licensed SRO activities.

He also workedas a radiographer, NDT Level I.Mr. Tim Peterson continued performing licensed SRO activities.

He also continues performing his radiography NDT Level III activities.

Mr. Max Paronable continued performing licensed RO activities.

He also continues hisradiography NDT Level I activities.

Page 1 of 7 NTR Annual Report No. 54> Mr. Jorge Garcia continued performing as a full time specialist in 2013 to performradiography and non-reactor system maintenance tasks under the direction andsupervision of the certified NDT personnel and the licensed operations staff.e Mr. Martin Whitman continued performing as a full time specialist in 2013 to performradiography and non-reactor system maintenance tasks under the direction andsupervision of the certified NDT personnel and the licensed operations staff.> Ms. Carmen Holmes has been hired to the full time staff at NTR. She continues toperform radiography and non-reactor system maintenance tasks under the direction and supervision of the certified NDT personnel and the licensed operations staff.> Mr. Stephen Neel has been hired to the full time staff at NTR. He continues to performradiography and non-reactor system maintenance tasks under the direction andsupervision of the certified NDT personnel and licensed operations staff.> Mr. James Graham, under contract as a radiographer, has continued to performradiography and non-reactor system maintenance tasks under the direction andsupervision of the certified NDT personnel and licensed operations staff.> Mr. Earl Saito continued performing as the Vallecitos Nuclear Center Manager for EHSand RC in 2013 with overall EHS responsibilities for the Vallecitos site, including NTR.> Mr. Thomas Caine assumed the responsibilities as the VNC Site Manager and the NTRLevel III Mnanger from Tony McFadden in September of 2013.> Ms. Maralynn Segars last worked under contract as a radiographer in 2012. She didnot work at NTR in 2013.> Ms. Rose Bagnas last worked under contract as a radiographer in 2012. She did notwork at NTR in 2013.III. Facility

Changes, Tests, Experiments, and Procedure Changes Approved by theFacility ManagerIn accordance with written procedures, facility manager approval is required for changes tothe facility, procedures, tests, and experiments.

Specific information about the reporting period is presented as follows:A. Facility ChangesPursuant to 1OCFR50.59(a),

the following facility change was implemented in 2013 requiring Facility

Manager, Regulatory Compliance and VTSC approval.

The change and associated activities were comprehensively reviewed using a 50.59 analysis.

CA-304- Addition of Explosive Magazine to the NTR Facility

-The NTR has added asubstantially larger explosive magazine to be used for explosive storage.

It has been locatedPage 2 of 7 NTR Annual Report No. 54adjacent to the Setup Room on the North side of the facility.

The smaller magazine thatpreviously held that location was moved to an area inside the North Room in the northeast corner of the building.

B. TestsPursuant to 10CFR5O.59(a),

no special test were performed during 2013 with FacilityManager, Regulatory Compliance and VTSC approval.

C. Experiments Pursuant to 1OCFR5O.59(a),

there were no new experiments in 2013 requiring FacilityManager, Regulatory Compliance and VTSC approval.

The two routine experiment typesdescribed as neutron radiography and Schafer slide sample irradiations were properlyauthorized utilizing experiment authorization forms throughout 2013.D. Procedure ChangesPursuant to 10CFR50.59, three procedural changes were initiated during 2013 to incorporate editorial or typographical corrections, technical data, and changes to requirements, or toprovide for the addition or clarification of information and reliability of performance.

Changes were made with Facility Manager and Regulatory Compliance review whenrequired.

A summary of the changes is presented in the table below.Revision Procedure Summary of Changes1007 SOP 10-4, Explosives Added reference to CP 3.1 for Severe weather detection Handling and response1009 SOP 6-4, Daily Defines the Technical Specification time imitations forSurveillance Check Sheet operations with an elevated conductivity per T.S.3.3.3.31010 SOP 4-2, Safety Rod Revises the Safety rod magnet alignment processRepairsPage 3 of 7 NTR Annual Report No. 54IV. Major Preventative or Corrective Maintenance During this reporting period, all routine preventive maintenance and surveillance checkswere completed as scheduled.

The following lists the noteworthy corrective maintenance activities performed in 2013.Safety Rod Drive> On 5/7/2013 the Safety Rod Drive #2 failed to drive in upon shutdown.

The rod drive-in function, which is initiated by the illuminating push button switch (IN 32), was foundto be inoperative.

Replaced the switch (swapped) with an installed spare (DS 5) thatwas being utilized for indication only. Tested the safety rod drive system and returnedit to service.

ER 13-07; CR-6357.Control Rod Drive> Control Rod Drive #1 failed to drive in upon shutdown.

The control circuit relaynumber 40, which provides the drive-in function for CR-1, was found inoperative.

Replaced the relay with an identical new relay. Tested the control rod dive systemand returned it to service.

ER 13-03; CR 4692.Log-N power supply> The Log-N system provides log scale readout of reactor power and related functions including the high power and period scrams. A system failure occurred on 4/22/2013 resulting in a scram from 100% power. The cause was isolated to a voltage varianceat the output of the power supply. A shop spare power supply was installed into thesystem. After an overnight run test of the realigned system showed the voltages weremaintaining within specification, the system was declared operational.

Radiation Monitoring Instrumentation (Victoreen)

> On two occasions, performed corrective maintenance on the Radiation Monitorsinvolving the replacement of one or more PC boards and a detector.

This is acontinuing effort to maintain the system with no change in the trend that wouldindicate a system wide concern.Recorder, Stack Gas and Particulate

> Performed corrective maintenance on the stack gas and particulate strip chartrecorder to include the replacement of the print head and shaft the amplifier module,and the drive motor with stripped gears. Tested and checked calibration on therecorder and returned the system to service.Page 4 of 7 NTR Annual Report No. 54V. Unscheduled Shutdowns During the reporting period, there was one unscheduled reactor shutdowns after reachingcriticality.

Scram Report 13-01Sequence of EventsAt 11:25 AM on Monday the 22th of April 2013, an unplanned shutdown occurred whileoperating at 100% power. Alarm lights illuminated on the control room alarm panel were:Log N CIC trip, fast period and safety rod disconnect.

The Reactor Operator observed allnormal indications of a reactor scram and shutdown.

All safety rods automatically scrammed to a full in position.

All control rods and the source rod drove in automatically totheir full-in positions.

Manager, NTR and VNC Regulatory Compliance were notified of thescram.Cause of EventThe unplanned shutdown was caused by a failed line rheostat in the positive leg of thepower supply causing variances to the voltage being sent to the pre-regulator in theinstrument drawer. This resulted in a scram signal being sent to the protection systemcausing all safety rods to automatically scram to the full-in position.

Corrective ActionsBoth the pre-regulator and the power supply were exchange with shop spares. The systempasses an overnight operation check with no trips locking in.Weaknesses have been identified in the maintenance program for this system. CR-6224 wasused to document the efforts to improve this program.

The new program includes acomplete inventory of the installed and shop spare components for this system. All shopmaintenance and tests conducted at a component level will be recorded in a maintenance log kept by the maintenance technician and reviewed by the NTR operations group.Conclusions The system was declared operational and the reactor was re-started on 4/26/13.Page 5 of 7 NTR Annual Report No. 54VI. Radiation Levels and Sample Results at On-Site and Off-Site Monitoring StationsThe data below are from sample and dosimeter results accumulated during the 2013reporting period. Except for the NTR stack data, these data are for the entire VNC site andinclude the effects of operations other than the NTR.A. NTR StackTotal airborne releases (stack emissions) for 2013 are as follows:Alpha Particulate:

1.27E-07 Ci (predominantly radon-thorium daughter products)

Beta-Gamma Particulate:

3.70E-07 CiIodine-131:

2.55E-06 CiNoble Gases: 2.50E+2 CiNoble gas activities recorded from the NTR stack integrate both background readings andthe actual releases.

Background readings may account for as much as 50% of the indicated release.B. Air Monitors (Yearly average of all meteorological stations.)

Four environmental air-monitoring stations are positioned approximately 90 degrees apartaround the operating facilities of the site. Each station is equipped with a membrane filter,which is changed weekly and analyzed for gross alpha and gross beta-gamma.

Alpha Concentration:

Weekly Maximum, 3.33 E-14 jiCi/ccWeekly Average, 2.15 E-15 !tCi/ccBeta Concentration:

Weekly Maximum, 3.32 E-14 jtCi /ccWeekly Average, 1.07 E-14 [tCi/ccC. Gamma Radiation The yearly dose results for the year 2013 as determined from evaluation of site perimeter environmental monitoring dosimeters showed no departure from normal stablebackgrounds.

D. Vegetation No alpha, beta or gamma activity attributable to activities at the NTR facility was found on orin vegetation in the vicinity of the site.Page 6 of 7 NTR Annual Report No. 54E. WaterThere was no release of radioactivity in water or to groundwater greater than the limitsspecified in 10CFR20, Appendix B, Table 2, and Column 2.F. Off-SiteThe results of samples collected from off-site locations indicate normal background for theregional area.VII. Radiation ExposureIn 2013, the highest annual exposure to any full time workers while working at NTR was0.786 Rem and the lowest exposure for this category of worker was 0.241 Rem. The averageradiation exposure for the nine workers involved was 0.549 Rem per person.The 2013 collective radiation exposure for all workers while performing work at NTR was4.942 Person-Rem.

VIII. Conclusion GE Hitachi concludes that the overall operating experience of the NTR reflects another yearof safe and efficient operations.

There were no reportable events.GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLCVallecitos Operations Daniel M .\4 Digitally signed by Daniel M. ThomasDN: on=Daniel M. Thomas, o=GEHitachi, ou=NTR,Tho m as email=daniel.thomas@ge.com, c=USTho m as Date: 2014.03.31 09:19:42

-07'00'Daniel M. Thomas, ManagerNuclear Test ReactorPage 7 of 7