Independent Confirmatory Survey Summary and Results for the Enrico Fermi Atomic Power Plant, Unit 1, Newport, Michigan (Final Report No. 2)
- Oak Ridge Inst. for Science and Education (ORISE), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
The Enrico Fermi Atomic Power Plant, Unit 1 (Fermi 1) was a fast breeder reactor design that was cooled by sodium and operated at essentially atmospheric pressure. On May 10, 1963, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) granted an operating license, DPR-9, to the Power Reactor Development Company (PRDC), a consortium specifically formed to own and operate a nuclear reactor at the Fermi 1 site. The reactor was designed for a maximum capability of 430 megawatts (MW); however, the maximum reactor power with the first core loading (Core A) was 200 MW. The primary system was filled with sodium in December 1960 and criticality was achieved in August 1963. The reactor was tested at low power during the first couple years of operation. Power ascension testing above 1 MW commenced in December 1965 immediately following the receipt of a high-power operating license. In October 1966 during power ascension, zirconium plates at the bottom of the reactor vessel became loose and blocked sodium coolant flow to some fuel subassemblies. Two subassemblies started to melt and the reactor was manually shut down. No abnormal releases to the environment occurred. Forty-two months later after the cause had been determined, cleanup completed, and the fuel replaced, Fermi 1 was restarted. However, in November 1972, PRDC made the decision to decommission Fermi 1 as the core was approaching its burn-up limit. The fuel and blanket subassemblies were shipped off-site in 1973. Following that, the secondary sodium system was drained and sent off-site. The radioactive primary sodium was stored on-site in storage tanks and 55 gallon (gal) drums until it was shipped off-site in 1984. The initial decommissioning of Fermi 1 was completed in 1975. Effective January 23, 1976, DPR-9 was transferred to the Detroit Edison Company (DTE) as a 'possession only' license (DTE 2010a). This report details the confirmatory activities performed during the second Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) site visit to Fermi 1 in November 2010. The survey was strategically planned during a Unit 2 (Fermi 2) outage to take advantage of decreased radiation levels that were observed and attributed to Fermi 2 from the operating unit during the first site visit. However, during the second visit there were elevated radiation levels observed and attributed to the partially dismantled Fermi 1 reactor vessel and a waste storage box located on the 3rd floor of the Fermi 1 Turbine Building. Confirmatory surveys (unshielded) performed directly in the line of sight of these areas were affected. The objective of the confirmatory survey was to verify that the final radiological conditions were accurately and adequately described in Final Status Survey (FSS) documentation, relative to the established release criteria. This objective was achieved by performing document reviews, as well as independent measurements and sampling. Specifically, documentation of the planning, implementation, and results of the FSS were evaluated; side-by-side FSS measurement and source comparisons were performed; site areas were evaluated relative to appropriate FSS classification; and areas were assessed for residual, undocumented contamination.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge Inst. for Science and Education (ORISE), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP); USDOE Office of Science (SC); US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-06OR23100; F1008
- OSTI ID:
- 1034266
- Report Number(s):
- 12-IEAV-0084; 2018-SR-02-1; TRN: US1200789
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
BREEDER REACTORS
CONTAMINATION
COOLANTS
CRITICALITY
DECOMMISSIONING
DOCUMENTATION
NUCLEAR ENERGY
OPERATING LICENSES
POWER PLANTS
POWER REACTORS
RADIATIONS
REACTOR VESSELS
REACTORS
SODIUM
STORAGE
TANKS
TURBINES
WASTE STORAGE
ZIRCONIUM
Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
Atmospheric Pressure
Decommissioning
Operating Licenses
Reactor Vessels
Waste Storage
DPR-9
PRDC
DTE