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| DOE-STD-1128-98
Guide of Good Practices for Occupational Radiological Protection in Plutonium Facilities
7.5.2 Emergency Response Actions
The priorities of line management (which could include involving the health physics staff)
during a criticality event should be to rescue personnel, prevent further incidents or
exposures, and quickly determine those who have been seriously exposed (Moe, 1988). To
support these emergency response actions, the health physics staff should be trained in
facility emergency procedures. These emergency procedures include evacuation routes,
personnel assembly areas, personnel accountability, care and treatment of injured and
exposed persons, a means for immediate identification of exposed individuals,
instrumentation for determining the radiation levels at the assembly area, and the re-entry
and formation of response teams.
Emergency response procedures for conducting the initial quick sort of workers should
specify measurement techniques and require that surveyors record methods and instrument
settings used for quick-sort operations to ensure proper interpretation of the results. Field
results should be compared to pre-established activity-dose relationships developed as part
of emergency response procedures to determine if a worker was exposed. Other indicators
such as a discharged self-reading dosimeter could also be an indication of a possible
exposure.
As an immediate follow-up action for workers identified as being exposed during a quick-
sort procedure, a more accurate dose estimate should be made using PNADs, fixed-location
Part of these more accurate analyses should include: 1) better definition of source
characteristics, 2) location of moderating materials, and 3) location and orientation of the
person(s) at the time of exposure and action of the person following the irradiation. The
health physics staff can provide valuable information to support this analysis, particularly
regarding the location and orientation of workers to the excursion if they are involved in the
rescue and initial monitoring procedures.
Health physics staff will be responsible for retrieving fixed nuclear accident dosimeters and
ensuring that PNADs from any exposed workers are submitted for analysis.
7.5.3 Special Considerations During Decommissioning Activities
Before decommissioning or disposal of any facilities or equipment, an evaluation should be
performed to assess the potential holdup of fissionable material in any equipment. These
types of measurements may require the assistance of health physics staff.
Some strippable coatings and surface fixing films are good neutron moderators. Nuclear
criticality safety specialists should be consulted when using these coatings to decontaminate
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