DOE/EM Criticality Safety Needs Assessment

Abstract

The issue of nuclear criticality safety (NCS) in Department of Energy Environmental Management (DOE/EM) fissionable material operations presents challenges because of the large quantities of material present in the facilities and equipment that are committed to storage and/or material conditioning and dispositioning processes. Given the uncertainty associated with the material and conditions for many DOE/EM fissionable material operations, ensuring safety while maintaining operational efficiency requires the application of the most-effective criticality safety practices. In turn, more-efficient implementation of these practices can be achieved if the best NCS technologies are utilized. In 2002, DOE/EM-1 commissioned a survey of criticality safety technical needs at the major EM sites. These needs were documented in the report Analysis of Nuclear Criticality Safety Technology Supporting the Environmental Management Program, issued May 2002. Subsequent to this study, EM safety management personnel made a commitment to applying the best and latest criticality safety technology, as described by the DOE Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP). Over the past 7 years, this commitment has enabled the transfer of several new technologies to EM operations. In 2008, it was decided to broaden the basis of the EM NCS needs assessment to include not only current needs for technologies but also NCS operational areas with potential for improvements in controls, analysis, and regulations. A series of NCS workshops has been conducted over the past years, and needs have been identified and addressed by EM staff and contractor personnel. These workshops were organized and conducted by the EM Criticality Safety Program Manager with administrative and technical support by staff at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This report records the progress made in identifying the needs, determining the approaches for addressing these needs, and assimilating new NCS technologies into EM fissionable material operations. In addition, the report includes projections of future EM needs and associted recommendations.