Regulations and Standards

DOE-STD-1128-98

Guide of Good Practices for Occupational Radiological Protection in Plutonium Facilities

7.1

REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS

Nuclear criticality safety program requirements for DOE facilities are presented in DOE O 420.1A,

Facility Safety (DOE, 2002a). The objectives for nuclear criticality safety in the Order are to

establish nuclear criticality safety requirements. Specifically, these requirements shall (DOE Order

420.1A, Section 4.3) ensure that:

Criticality safety is comprehensively addressed and receives an objective review, with all

identified risks reduced to acceptably low levels and management authorization of the

operation is documented.

The public, workers, property, both government and private, the environment, and essential

operations are protected from the effects of a criticality accident.

DOE Order 420.1A incorporates the following American Nuclear Society ANSI/ANS Nuclear

Criticality Safety Standards as requirements for DOE nuclear criticality safety programs. It may be

noted however, that DOE Order 420.1A modifies certain sections of ANSI/ANS 8.1, 8.3, 8.5 and

8.7. This is a partial listing of incorporated standards that are of the most interest to radiation

protection personnel:

-- ANSI/ANS-8.1, Nuclear Criticality Safety in Operations with Fissionable Materials Outside

Reactors (ANSI, 1983b). This standard provides the basic criteria and limits for operations

with fissionable materials outside reactors except for critical experiments. The standard also

provides requirements for establishing the validity and the areas of applicability of any

calculational method used in assessing nuclear criticality safety. It should be noted that the

Order modifies certain paragraphs of the Standard.

-- ANSI/ANS-8.3, Criticality Accident Alarm System (ANSI, 1986a). This standard provides the

performance criteria for the location, selection, design, operation, and testing of nuclear

criticality detection and alarm systems.

-- ANSI/ANS-8.5, Use of Borosilicate-Glass Raschig Rings as a Neutron Absorber in Solutions of

Fissile Material (ANSI, 1986c). This standard describes the chemical and physical

environment for the usage, properties of the rings and packed vessels, maintenance and test

procedures, and criticality limits for solutions containing fissile materials.

-- ANSI/ANS-8.7, Guide for Nuclear Criticality Safety in the Storage of Fissile Materials (ANSI,

1975a). This standard provides mass and spacing limits for the storage of, among other fissile

materials, plutonium in both oxide and metallic forms.

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