Manual For The Operation Of Research Reactors

22.21.6. Experiment information.21.7. Experiment emergency procedures . . . . . , . . .R e a c t o r - p h y s i c s c o n s i d e r a t i o n s encountered withexperiments. . 67676823.Experiment facilities .'.6923.1.Beam holes.:. " 70'-'23. 2. T h r o u g h - h o l e s 7023.3.Vertical experiments70.23.4.H y d r a u l i c - and p n e u m a t i c - c a p s u l e f a c i l i t i e s . . . . . . . . .7123.5.Critical facilities. 722 3 . 6 . P o o l irradiation/facilities.v.7323. 7. T h e r m a l c o l u m n s ' ; . . . . . - . . . . . . .'.'.' . . . . . ' . . . ;7323.8.Shielding f a c i l i t y . '. 7323.9.Mock-upi.742 3 . 1 0 . Building a r r a n g e m e n t and equipment r e q u i r e d .'7424. P r e c a u t i o n s in the use of m a t e r i a l s 7724.1.Compatibility of m a t e r i a l.;7724.2.C o r r o s i o n of aluminium. . . .79'24.3.C o r r o s i o n of c o n s t r u c t i o n a l m a t e r i a li80P A R T III. F U N C T I O N A L REQUIREMENTS OF R E A C T O RSYSTEMS- 25. G o r e d e s i g n c o n s i d e r a t i o n s126. F u e l.'26. 1. Choice of element weight f o r new r e a c t o r26.2.C o m m e n t s on f u e l element p r o c u r e m e n t and:. specifications27. C o n t r o l r o d s;.;. ' 27. 1. Reliability27.2.Testing27.3.Control-rod worth. ;.''27.4.Value of individual r o d s: 27.5.Rate of r o d withdrawal.27.6.Material p r o b l e m s.'27.7.Release mechanism'27.8.Control-rod drives27.9.Seat s w i t c h . . . . . . . . .28. Instrumentation.'28.1.G e n e r a l c r i t e r i a applicable to r e a c t o rinstrumentation . . . . . . ' . .' .28. 2. Safety instrumentation— .28.3.Sensitivity to f u e l m o v e m e n t . . ' . . . .:28.4.Redundancy.-.: 28.5.C o i n c i d e n c e v e r s u s redundant channels . . . . . . . . . . .28.6.Block-outs . ' . . . . . ; . :«.'. 28.7.Gamma chambers :.'.28. 8. F i s s i o n - p r o d u c t m o n i t o r28.9.L o c k i n g of c o n t r o l r o d s".'28.10. Excess reactivity'controlled'by-automatic.system . . . . . . 9797

2 8 . 1 1 . Relationship of the r e a c t o r o p e r a t o r s to theinstrumentation"28. 12. T e s t i n g.'.72 8 . 1 3 . E x p e r i m e n t instrumentation.". . .28. 14. M o d i f i c a t i o n s to instrumentation,' .2 8 . 1 5 . M i n i m u m safety c o n t r o l instrument channels ' ,."29. R e a c t o r v e s s e l . . . . . . . . . .'/. . . . . ".29.1.Lattice . . . . ' . . . . . ' . . .'.;.29.2.Gas r e l e a s e f r o m e x p e r i m e n t s,,29.3.Venting.:'.'.'29.4.Window'29.5.Trash collection.,,30. R e a c t o r p o o l s'.'V.30.1.Lighting.'.'„30.2.Cleaning.'.:",; 30. 3: L i n e r s7:;30.4.Unlined p o o l s . .3 0 . 5 . A c c e s s through walls . . . . . . . . ' .,30.6.Draining o f ' p o o l''.'.30.7.Storage r a c k s., , 3 0 . 8 .Gates and p l a t f o r m s. . . . . . . . . .30.9.E f f e c t on building ventilation . .'.31. W a t e r s y s t e m.31.1'. W a t e r purity'.'.'. : 31.2.Maintaining water purity.;:. :" : 3 1 . 3 .Degasifier.:.:.31.4.P r o v i s i o n f o r sampling and analysing r e a c t o r w a t e r . . .: 31.5.Monitoring.'31.6.Corrosion.V.j ::;31.7.R a d i o i s o t o p e s c o m m o n l y found in r e s e a r c h - r e a c t o rwater s y s t e m s . . . . . . ' . - . . . ' . . : . ; . .:.:.' .31.8.Algae.31. 9. Radiolytic gasJ-.-. '32'. E m e r g e n c y c o o l i n g 32.1.Need f o r e m e r g e n c y cooling- . . . . . . . . ."C3 2 . 2 . Auxiliary c o o l i n g d e v i c e s . . . . ; : . . ; . . . . . . . ; . . . : . . . . . . .33'. R e a c t o r , building3 3 . 1 . A r r a n g e m e n t of r e a c t o r building".33.2.Decontamination f a c i l i t y —,.33. 3 . . Space. ' ' 3 3 . 4 . . F l o o r loading capacity; .;.''33.5.Clothes-changing facilities33.6.Provisions for emergencies.: .33.7.Visitors.,.'3 3 . 8 . A i r conditioning.;.33.9.Hoist.'.;.i33.10. Exposed surfaces1. 33.11. Drains.1.3 3 . 1 2 . W i r i n g f r o m e x p e r i m e n t s to the c o n t r o l r o o m979898' 114114115115115115116116116116

34.35.36.37.38.Ventilation and containment3 4 . 1 . Ventilation . .34.2.Dynamic containmentUtilities.35.1. Electrical power35.2.Emergency power3 5 . 3 . P o t a b l e , p r o c e s s and d e m i n e r a l i z e d water35.4. Air35.5.CommunicationsTools36.1.Storage36.2.Weight of t o o l s36. 3.Use of t o o l s with hoistShielded c a r r i e r sHot c e l l s38.1. Accessibility3 8 . 2 . Separation38.3.Ventilation38.4.Cell i n t e r i o r117H7118H9119. 120121122122122123123123123125125125126126.'.,. XV.Outline of a training c o u r s e in r e a c t o r operationsO R R s t a r t - u p c h e c k list;P r e - s t a r t u p O R R instrument c h e c k s .:.O R R hourly r e a d i n g sDaily operating conditions ( p o w e r d i a g r a m )O R R accumulated instrument p o w e rP o w e r changes and a c c u m u l a t e d energyO R R daily s u m m a r y8 - 4 shift ORR d a i l y . c h e c k sheet .4 - 1 2 shift O R R daily check sheet12-4 shift ORR daily check sheet . . ;ORR daily water s y s t e m c h e c k sDaily routing instrument c h e c k listORR weekly c h e c k s . . .'Sample schedule (in; out)O R R weekly r e p o r tO R R shutdown schedule;O R R shutdown w o r k scheduleO R R shutdown c h e c k listORR m e c h a n i c a l maintenance r e c o r dFuel transfer m em o Shim rod r e m o v a l c h e c k list. Shim rod i n s e r t i o n check listT o o l and equipment check list f o r ORR i n - p o o l workCurrent p e r s o n n e l e x p o s u r e r e c o r dRadiation work p e r m i t :

XXVI.XXVII.XXVIII.XXIX.XXX.BackgroundAir sampleExperimentExperimentExperimentsurveyand s m e a r contamination datar e v i e w questionnaireinformation f o r shift s u p e r v i s o r sstatus change request177179180192194

INTRODUCTIONThis manual is meant to p r o v i d e g e n e r a l ' i n f o r m a t i o n on the s a f e t y ,o p e r a t i o n and f u n c t i o n a l r e q u i r e m e n t s of a ' n u m b e r of s y s t e m s p e r t a i n i n gto r e a c t o r o p e r a t i o n . B e c a u s e d i f f e r e n t f a c i l i t i e s v a r y w i d e l y in d e s i g n ,it i s not p r a c t i c a l to be t o o s p e c i f i c c o n c e r n i n g c r i t e r i a o r d e s i g n d e t a i l s .T h e r e f o r e an attempt has b e e n m a d e to l i m i t the c r i t e r i a to the f u n c t i o n sw h i c h the s y s t e m s m u s t p e r f o r m and to g e n e r a l p r o b l e m s of s a f e t y . .A number of examples are given of s p e c i f i c s y s t e m s or- situations generally a s s o c i a t e d with l i g h t - w a t e r m o d e r a t e d and c o o l e d r e a c t o r s . It i shoped that the v a r i o u s s a f e t y and operating p r o b l e m s d e s c r i b e d ' w i l l : enablethe operating staff to v i s u a l i z e not only s i m i l a r situations but e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t ones which have not been f o r e s e e n . 'One of the m o s t useful m e s s a g e s which this manual can c o n v e y is that,since e v e r y situation cannot-always be f o r e s e e n - i n the design ;and in-the p r o c e d u r e s initially d e v e l o p e d , the operating staff must b e ' c o n s t a n t l y vigilantf o r new p r o b l e m s b r o u g h t on by c h a n g e s in f u e l l o a d i n g , f i s s i o n - p r o d u c tb u i l d - u p , changes in flux p a t t e r n , ' changes in e x p e r i m e n t s , o r a'multitudeof other f a c t o r s , any of which m a y unexpectedly c o n f r o n t the o p e r a t o r witha new,' and s o m e t i m e s unpleasant, situation.'.' .« » W h i l e a ' n u m b e r of d e s i r a b l e d e s i g n ' f e a t u r e s a r e l i s t e d f o r a r e a c t o rand i t s v a r i o u s s y s t e m s , it should be pointed out that p r o b a b l y no' r e a c t o rin e x i s t e n c e i n c l u d e s all the f e a t u r e s d i s c u s s e d . It i s a l w a y s p o s s i b l e tosuggest i m p r o v e m e n t s in the design of any r e a c t o r and the r e a c t o r managershould not n e c e s s a r i l y change his r e a c t o r to c o n f o r m with all the f e a t u r e sl i s t e d s i n c e m o s t r e a c t o r s are s u c c e s s f u l l y operated without many of these.It i s h o p e d , h o w e v e r , that this manual, in pointing out d e s i r a b l e f e a t u r e s ,will cause the r e a c t o r manager and s u p e r v i s o r s to appreciate wherein theirr e a c t o r i s s u p e r i o r o r i n f e r i o r and to p r o v i d e e f f e c t i v e s a f e g u a r d s againstany d e f i c i e n c y in design o r equipment by i n c r e a s i n g administrative c o n t r o l ,if n e c e s s a r y at the expense of s o m e limitation on o p e r a t i o n s .In c o n s i d e r i n g the n e c e s s i t y of making changes in a r e a c t o r which hasalready been built, the r e a c t o r manager should c o n s i d e r whether a d m i n i s t r a t i v e c o n t r o l c a n m a k e up f o r any d e f i c i e n c y of d e s i g n . It i s p r o b a b l ytrue that a w e l l - m a n a g e d , p o o r l y - d e s i g n e d r e a c t o r can b e o p e r a t e d m u c hm o r e s a f e l y than a w e l l - d e s i g n e d , p o o r l y - m a n a g e d r e a c t o r .It is not c l a i m e d that the c r i t e r i a given are p e r f e c t , but e v e r y r e a c t o rmanager should be c o n v i n c e d that his r e a c t o r either m e e t s these standardsthrough i n h e r e n t s a f e t y , d e s i g n e d s a f e t y , and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e p r o c e d u r e so r that the s t a n d a r d i s i n c o r r e c t o r m o r e r i g o r o u s than n e c e s s a r y .ScopeT h i s manual i s d i r e c t e d m a i n l y toward r e s e a r c h and testing r e a c t o r swith e m p h a s i s on those that a r e l i g h t - w a t e r m o d e r a t e d and c o o l e d . An attempt has b e e n m a d e to i n c l u d e m o s t of the f i e l d s e n c o u n t e r e d in r e a c t o roperations, together with c o m m e n t s on design, the start-up of new r e a c t o r s ,p r o b l e m s with e x p e r i m e n t s , p r o c e d u r e s (both n o r m a l and e m e r g e n c y ) andthe training and q u a l i f i c a t i o n of p e r s o n n e l .1

2INTRODUCTIONNo attempt is made to c o n s i d e r all items which are normally consideredin design, nor is this manual intended to outline a safety analysis of the typen o r m a l l y p e r f o r m e d on a new r e a c t o r . The approach to the subject has beenf r o m the operational aspect, to make available to operators s o m e experienceof s h o r t c o m i n g s in d e s i g n that have not b e e n o b v i o u s until a f t e r e x t e n d e doperation.LimitationT h e p r o c e d u r e s and c r i t e r i a outlined in this manual should not be r e g a r d e d as binding; instead, they should be t r e a t e d as r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s tobe c o n s i d e r e d and accepted o r r e j e c t e d , part by part, a c c o r d i n g to whetherthey pertain to the s y s t e m in question or whether the probability of any p a r t i c u l a r a c c i d e n t o c c u r r i n g in the s u b j e c t s y s t e m is high enough to w a r r a n tconsideration.Since r e s e a r c h r e a c t o r s have s o m a n y d i f f e r e n t d e s i g n s and a r e s u b j e c t to the influence of w i d e l y d i f f e r e n t t e c h n i c a l b a c k g r o u n d s , it would bep r e s u m p t u o u s to attempt to d i s c u s s in d e t a i l the s a f e t y c o n s i d e r a t i o n s o fall the various types, even if the author w e r e sufficiently familiar with them.H o w e v e r , m a n y p r o b l e m s a r e c o m m o n to all r e a c t o r s and r e a c t o r s t a f f sshould attempt-to p r o j e c t the examples given in this manual to their system,even though the e x a m p l e s m a y not apply d i r e c t l y b e c a u s e of the d i f f e r e n c ein d e s i g n .

PART I. OPERATION1.BASIC CONSIDERATIONSThe b a s i c m i s s i o n of the operating staff of a nuclear r e s e a r c h r e a c t o ri s , of c o u r s e , to o p e r a t e the r e a c t o r s a f e l y and e f f i c i e n t l y and to p r o v i d ee x p e r i m e n t f a c i l i t i e s f o r v a r i o u s r e s e a r c h p r o g r a m m e s . In achieving thisr a t h e r s i m p l e o b j e c t i v e , a s k i l l e d staff and m u c h planning and hard w o r ka r e r e q u i r e d . The m a n a g e r must train and qualify his s t a f f , p r e p a r e p r o c e d u r e s , plan f o r initial and routine operation and above all ensure the overalls a f e t y during ali the v a r i o u s c o n d i t i o n s l i k e l y to b e e n c o u n t e r e d in o p e r ation, shut-down, s t a r t - u p , maintenance, o r any other n o r m a l or e m e r g e n c ysituation.While technical skills are generally considered to be the m o s t importantattribute-of the operating s t a f f , o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s k i l l s a r e a l s o v e r y n e c e s s a r y . The training of the staff must not be t o o c o n c e n t r a t e d in t h e o r y , butm u s t b e h e a v i l y s u p p l e m e n t e d with p r a c t i c a l e x p e r i e n c e . S t a n d a r d s f o rqualifying the staff f o r each position should be established and the operatingstaff o r g a n i z a t i o n should define the e x t e n t ' o f e a c h p e r s o n ' s r e s p o n s i b i l i t yfor decisions s o that the proper level of technical competence may be broughtto bear on a p r o b l e m .The s p e c i f i c h a z a r d s of r e a c t o r o p e r a t i o n , i . e . c r i t i c a l i t y , radiationand c o n t a m i n a t i o n , a r e not e n c o u n t e r e d in o t h e r f i e l d s and m u s t be c a r e fully c o n s i d e r e d . W h e r e n e c e s s a r y , a d m i n i s t r a t i v e s a f e t y in the f o r m oftraining, p r o c e d u r e s , r u l e s , check l i s t s etc. should be added to the n o r m a lsafety d e v i c e s designed as part of the' r e a c t o r . In specifying these, consideration should be given to the safety of the public a t l a r g e a s well as thatof the staff and the r e a c t o r i t s e l f . E a c h h a z a r d m u s t b e c l e a r l y s e t f o r t hand emphasized in the training p r o g r a m m e ' s o that the staff understands ther e a s o n f o r the safety d e v i c e s and administrative c o n t r o l s .Since safety d e v i c e s play such an important r o l e in r e a c t o r s ' a n d in s o m etypes of e x p e r i m e n t s , c a r e f u l p r o c e d u r e s must be followed f o r establishingthe r e l i a b i l i t y of these at appropriate i n t e r v a l s . Safety d e v i c e s cannot p r o v i d e p r o t e c t i o n in e v e r y c o n c e i v a b l e situation and these situations m u s t bec l e a r l y r e c o g n i z e d s o that additional administrative s a f e t y ' m a y be provided.B e c a u s e it is usually n e c e s s a r y to change or supplement the p r o c e d u r e sadopted with a hew r e a c t o r , c a r e must be e x e r c i s e d to ensure that the p r o c e d u r e s a r e c o m p l e t e , p r o p e r l y a u t h o r i z e d and r e a d i l y a c c e s s i b l e to thestaff. If a r i g i d s y s t e m i s not f o l l o w e d when changing p r o c e d u r e s , it m a yeventually be d i f f i c u l t to d e t e r m i n e what the approved p r o c e d u r e s actuallyare.' ' ''During the initial start-up a long s e r i e s of tests must be p e r f o r m e d whicha r e ' d e s i g n e d t o p r o v i d e i n f o r m a t i o n f o r the s u b s e q u e n t s a f e o p e r a t i o n o fthe r e a c t o r and e x p e r i m e n t s . T e s t p r o c e d u r e s f o r the r e a c t o r and its auxil i a r y s y s t e m s must be developed and operating and maintenance p r o c e d u r e sand c h e c k l i s t s m u s t b e f o r m u l a t e d . A f t e r the initial s t a r t - u p and testingp e r i o d , the e m p h a s i s usually shifts to the task of keeping the r e a c t o r o p e r ating s a f e l y and e f f i c i e n t l y . W h i l e it i s s o m e t i m e s a s s u m e d that r o u t i n e3

4PARTI."OPERATIONoperation of a r e a c t o r is v e r y simple, this is by no means the c a s e .P r o c e d u r e s must be changed as e x p e r i e n c e i n d i c a t e s f l a w s in the o r i g i n a lones or as equipment is changed. The qualification and training of the o p e r ating staff must be maintained, changes in the r e a c t o r and new experimentsr e q u i r e safety evaluations, functional t e s t s must be c a r r i e d out at r e g u l a ri n t e r v a l s t o guarantee the s a f e t y o f the f a c i l i t y and a m y r i a d of other p r o b l e m s m u s t be s o l v e d .The manager of a routinely operating r e a l t o r must b e c o m e familiar withthe p r o b l e m s of the e x p e r i m e n t e r s and other groups utilizing the r e a c t o r ino r d e r to i n c r e a s e the u s e f u l n e s s of his f a c i l i t y . He c a n do this in m a n yw a y s , s u c h as e s t a b l i s h i n g standards f o r the d e s i g n of e x p e r i m e n t s ; p r o viding consultation f o r groups wishing to do experiments in the r e a c t o r ; andmaintaining s e r v i c e s which f o s t e r utilization. Such s e r v i c e s include r a d i o i s o t o p e p r o d u c t i o n and a s s a y , c o n s u l t a t i o n on u s a g e of r a d i o i s o t o p e s anddesign of e x p e r i m e n t s , and d o s i m e t r y m e a s u r e m e n t s which provide e x p e r i m e n t e r s with the.value of fast and thermal neutron fluxes and gamma heatingin many locations in the r e a c t o r .T h i s l i s t i s b y no m e a n s c o m p l e t e and the v a r i o u s p r o b l e m s i n v o l v e din r e a c t o r o p e r a t i o n w i l l be d i s c u s s e d f u r t h e r in the f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n .2.2.1.S T A F F ORGANIZATIONTypicalorganizationchartA typical organization chart is shown (Fig. 1), based upon a s m a l l r e a c t o r o p e r a t i n g continuously and having a f a i r l y c o m p l e t e and independento r g a n i z a t i o n . No o r g a n i

will be in operation throughout the world, the IAEA has devoted special at-tention to the problems associated with their operation and efficient utili-zation. This interest has resulted in the publicatio in 196n b0y o thf e IAEA a small manual on the "Safe Operation of Cri