U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION O OrrICs Or INSeeCTION AND eNr0RCeMcNr Region I Report No. 70-882/78-01 Docket No. 70-882 Safeguards Group: 5 License No. SNM-870 Priority Category G ' Licensee: Columbia University in the City of New York 110 Low Memorial Library New York, New York 10027 racility Name: Columbia University in the City of New York Inspection at: 520 West 120th Street, New York City - 287A Engineering Terrace Inspection co ucted: November 30-December 1,1978 Inspectors: / g p_.5_ 79 h.H.JoynehChiff,NuclearMaterialControl date signed Support Section date signed date signed Approved by: ' L 2. /[ /7f W. G. Martin, Chief, Safeguards Branch /date signed Inspection Summary: Inspection on November 30-December 1,1978 (Report No. 70-882/78-01) Areas Inspected: Routine, unannounced inspection by a regional based inspector of nuclear material control and accounting including: facility organization and operation; physical inventory verification; and records and reports. The inspec- tion involved 14 inspector-hours onsite by one NRC regional based inspector. Results : Of the three areas inspected, no items of noncompliance were identified in one area, and three items of noncompliance were identified in the other two areas (Infraction-Source not stored in authorized storage location - Paragraph 3; Deficiency-Annual source material inventory report not submitted - Paragraph 4; and Infraction-Leak tests of U-233 plated fails not performed as required - Para- graph 4). Region I rorm 12 (Rev. April 77) 801)37032.2 __ i . | DETAILS 1. Persons Contacted Dr. E. Melkonian, Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering * P. Lorio, Health Physics Officer : R. Indelicato, Health Physics Officer M. Wheat, Health Physics Office Secretary L. Rothman, Health Physics Office Dr. B. Segal, Professor of Chemistry, Barnard College * denotes those attending exit interview. I 2. Facility Organization and Operation * Special nuclear material (SNM) at Columbia University is primarily 6 used by the School of Engineering and Applied Science but is con- ' trolled by the Health Physics Office. All SNM is currently held , under License No. SNM-870. I The licensee has been authorized by the NRC to operate a Triga re- actor. However, at the time of the inspection, no fuel had been received at the site pending resolution of litigation instituted by the City of New York to prevent operation of the reactor. The Health Physics Office is responsible for conducting periodic in- ventories of special nuclear, source and byproduct material possessed by the University and for submitting Material Status (Form NRC-742) and Material Transaction (Form NRC-741) Reports. No items of noncompliance were identified. 3. Physical Inventory Verification A review of License No. SNM-870 and licensee records was performed to identify SNM which the licensee was authorized to possess. The follow- ' ing types and quantities of SNM are authorized at the indicated loca- tions : : 4 i . , 3 U-235 a. 2.37 grams as plated electrodes - Engineering Terrace Build- ing, and Nevis Cyclotron Laboratory, Columbia University. b. 10 grams in uranium compounds - Engineering Terrace Building, Columbia University. Plutonium a. One PuBe source, 32 grams - Altschul Hall, Barnard College. b. One PuBe source, 80 grams - Pupin Laboratory, Columbia University. c. One PuBe source, 2 grams - Nevis Cycktron Laboratory, Columbia University. d. Ten PuBe Sources,16 grams each - Engineering Terrance Building, Columbia University. e. One PuBe source, 9 grams - Engineering Terrace Building, Columbia University. f. 0.255 grams as surface barrier detectors - Engineering Terrace Building, Columbia University. U-233 a. 20 grams in solution - Pupin Laboratory, Columbia University. b. 55 grams as plated foils - Pupin Laboratory, Columbia University. The licensee also possesses natural uranium on loan from the Depart- ment of Energy's (DOE) Savannah River Plant, Aiken, South Carolina for use in a subcritical assembly and thorium metal. The inspector attempted to verify the presence of each of the quantities of SNM actually possessed by the licensee. The in- ventory verification revealed the following: , - r- i . 4 U-235 | The inspector found the 2.37 grams of U-235 in fission chambers in a cabinet located in the office of the Health Physics Officer. Small quantities of U-235 in enriched uranium were located in a locked safe in the basement of Pupin Laboratory. This included 1.424 grams of uranium (0.475 grams of U-235) in U 308 and 0.344 milligrams of uranium (0.292 milligrams of U-235) previously in solution but evaporated on the paper wrappings after the bottle cracked and leaked. The inspector did not visit the Nevis Cyclo- tron Laboratory located at Irvington-on-Hudson, New York, but the licensee advised that no U-235 was maintained at that location. The licensee's license does not permit possession of U-235 in the Pupin Laboratory. The same situation was noted for a nine gram plutonium-beryllium (PuBe) neutron source which is authorized to be possessed in the Engineering Terrace Building but was actually located in the Pupin Laboratory Building. These two examples are contrary to Item 10 of License No. SNM-870. This is an infraction (78-01-01). Since the U-235 inventory is~ less than 0.5 grams, a Material Status Report (MSR) is not required. The September 30, 1978 MSR reflects the licensee's holdings as less than a reportable quantity. Plutonium The inspector inventoried the plutonium sources possessed by the licensee. One 32-gram (2 curie) PuBe source is used by Dr. Segal of Barnard College, in accordance with the license. The source is located in a locked neutron howitzer in Room 616 of Altschul Hall. One 80 gram PuBe source was stored in Room 601 of Pupin Laboratory. The room was locked. Five of the ten 16 gram sources authorized by the license were located in an Engineering Terrace Building labora- tory adjacent to the reactor room. The other five sources were to be picked up from Fordham University on December 4, subsequent to the inspection. A 9-gram source was reportedly stored in the Pupin Laboratory Building but was not inventoried by the inspector. This source is authorized to be possessed only in the Engineering Terrace Building, as discussed above. The licensee agreed to move the source to its authorized location. I - _ -_m..___ - ,-y I , . 5 The 0.255 grams of plutonium authorized to be possessed in surface barrier detectors were located in a locked room in the basement garage of the Engineering Terrace Building. A small bottle of NBS Standard 949 was also stored in the same locked room. The total quantity of plutonium located (203.255 grams) was con- sistent with the September 30, 1978 MSR (206 grams). The differ- ence is attributed to rounding. U-233 The inspector was unable to locate the 58.4 grams of U-233 (60 grams of uranium) shown on the licensee's September 30, 1978 MSR. Licensee personnel report that the U-233 was used to prepare various detectors but a search of storage locations at Columbia University failed to identify any plated foils containirg U-233. The licensee agreed to continue the search for this material and to report the status of the material to Region I. The inspector did locate, in a safe in the Pupin Laboratory Building, a small bottle labeled as containing 3 milligrams of U-233 in solution. A larger bottle of solution was also labeled as containing U-233 but no quantity was shown on the label. Licensee records failed to provide sufficient information to further identify the contents. Because of the difficulty experienced by the inspector in locatin s special nuclear material possessed by Columbia University, the licensee was asked to conduct a complete physical inventory in- cluding identification, weighing (if appropriate) and labeling of all SNM in the inventory. The licensee agreed to do this. Source Material The inspector attempted to inventory the source material (natural uranium and thorium) possessed by Columbia University. Information provided by DOE's Savannah River Plant (SRP) indicated that the licensee was shipped 1448 aluminum clad natural uranium slugs in May 1958 for use in a subcritical experiment. Since that time the licensee reported as missing (and paid for) nine slugs, leaving a total of 1439 slugs containing more than 2500 kilograms of uranium in inventory. The majority of the slugs were found in aluminum tubes (7 slugs / tube) stored horizontally in or on a plywood box in an Engineering Terrace lab. An additional 65 slugs were stored in a safe in the same lab. A total of 1437 slugs was accounted for, two less than the boox inventory. The licensee was to search further for the two missing slugs and report the results to the Savannah River Plant. The inspector notified SRP of the discrep- ancy. f . 6 In 1973 SRP provided an additional 22 pieces of bare natural uran- ium metal. This material, now in numerous pieces, is stored in a safe in the Pupin Laboratory Building, along with several pieces of bare thorium metal. Since no balance was readily available to weigh this material, the licensee was asked to perform an inventory ' of all source material, including identification and labeling. The licensee agreed to perfonn the inventory. The Septc.nber 30, 1978 MSR for natural uranium showed an ending inventory of 39 kilograms but the inspector could not substantiate this quantity. Licensees who are authorized to possess more tnan 350 grams of SNM (total of U-235, U-233 and plutonium) are required by 10 CFR 70.51(d) to conduct a physical inventory at intervals not exceeding twelve months. Columbia University was authorized to possess only 290.625 grams of SNM until July 31, 1978. At that time the possession limit was increased to 370.625 grams of SNM.