Appendix C Facility Design - doe-std-1128-98

DOE-STD-1128-98

APPENDIX C

FACILITY DESIGN

Design criteria are established to provide technical direction and guidance for the planning and

designing of new facilities and of facility additions and alterations, and the development of

specifications for building acquisitions. While there is little probability that large new plutonium

facilities will be constructed, there may be significant modification to existing facilities.

Additionally, 10 CFR 835 Subpart K Design and Control also provides requirements for the

design of radiological facilities.

This appendix provides guidance in the design of plutonium facilities. This guidance should be

used to supplement the guidance of the DOE Standard, Radiological Control, Ch. 1. (DOE, 2004),

and other DOE Orders and standards. Consideration and implementation of certain design

features may be necessary to ensure meeting criteria. Other safety areas such as industrial hygiene

and industrial safety are beyond the scope of this manual and are not specifically included;

however, Federal and state regulations applicable to those disciplines must also be met. Further,

DOE Policy 450.4 Safety Management System Policy (DOE, 1996d) provides the safety

management system specifications for DOE facilities.

Radiation protection in nuclear facilities is usually achieved by a mixture of engineered and

administrative safeguards. A building equipped with a maximum of engineered safeguards and a

minimum of administrative controls should be more economical to operate than one with the

reverse characteristics. Radiation-protection efforts may be significantly enhanced by the

incorporation of the appropriate design features rather than relying on administrative controls.

However, in many instances, the designer and the health physicist must balance competing

objectives to attain the most cost-effective design with a high degree of safety and reliability. In

designing a new facility, all of the necessary physical features can be included; however, in an old

facility it may be physically or economically impossible to meet all of the requirements.

The guidance presented relates to physical safety and control systems only; guidance related to

administrative control is not included. The phrase "safety and control systems" is used here to

refer to the physical, engineered features that are used to provide radiation and contamination

control. In addition to the radiation-protection requirements, facilities that contain more than 450

grams of plutonium are subject to criticality safety requirements, which include the need for a

criticality alarm system and criticality dosimeters. Guidance on the security and safeguards of

nuclear material (including prevention of theft or diversion) is not included but also must be

considered in the design of the facility.

The following sections address the applicable standards and guides, design objectives, structural

guidance, building layout, service and utility systems, and special monitoring, safety, and other

systems required for the design of a plutonium facility.

C.1 APPLICABLE STANDARDS AND GUIDES

The following DOE standards may also be useful:

DOE-STD-1021-93 Natural Phenomena Hazards Performance Categorization

Guidelines for Structures, Systems, and Components. (DOE, 1993b)

DOE-STD-1020-2002 Natural Phenomena Hazards Design and Evaluation Criteria for

Department of Energy Facilities. (DOE, 2002b)

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