Administrative Practices

DOE-STD-1136-2004

Guide of Good Practices for Occupational Radiation Protection in Uranium Facilities

The double contingency principle is to be applied to all nuclear criticality safety analyses for

processes, systems and equipment, storage, and transportation of fissionable materials. Should

contingencies be determined to be related, efforts shall be made to separate the contingencies.

7.2.3 Administrative Practices

Administrative practices consist of personnel, programs, plans, procedures, training, audits and

reviews, and quality assurance practices used to administer a nucle ar criticality safety program.

Administrative controls are used in addition to physical design features, including engineered controls, to

ensure nuclear criticality safety. ANSI/ANS-8.19 outlines administrative practices. An effective nuclear

criticality safety program requires a joint effort by managers, supervisors, workers, and nuclear criticality

safety staff and relies on conformance with operating procedures by all involved personnel. The following

sections describe the key elements of a nuclear criticality safety program.

7.2.3.1 Nuclear Criticality Safety Program

Management should develop a nuclear criticality safety policy and ensure it is distributed to

fissionable material workers. They should also delegate authority to implement the policy, monitor the

nuclear criticality safety program, and periodically participate in audits of the program. Supervisory staff

should ensure that nuclear criticality safety procedures are written and staff are trained in those procedures.

The nuclear criticality safety staff should provide technical guidance for equipment and process design and

for operating procedure development. The nuclear criticality safety staff should perform a nuclear criticality

safety evaluation before starting a new operation with fissionable materials or before changing an existing

operation. An independent expert should evaluate the technical adequacy of the nuclear criticality safety

program periodically.

7.2.3.2 Nuclear Criticality Safety Organization

Like the radiation protection pr ogram, the nuclear criticality safety organization should report to the

highest level of facility management independent of operations. Management should clearly communicate

nuclear criticality safety organization responsibilities and authorities to other facility personnel.

Organizational and procedural documents should clearly define lines of interaction and interfaces with

other facility organizational components. Management should assign the responsibility for nuclear

criticality safety in a manner that is consistent with other safety disciplines. The organization should also

have an independent nuclear criticality safety review committee and have access to consultants to assist in

the conduct of the criticality safety program.

7.2.3.3 Plans and Procedures

Facility nuclear criticality safety plans and procedures are critical components of the overall facility

operation. The purpose of procedures is to facilitate the safe and efficient conduct of operations. These

documents provide the means by which the program is conducted and prescribe how nuclear criticality

safety is to be achieved. The plans and procedures describe administrative activities and the technical

aspects of nuclear criticality safety analysis. The processes of procedure development, review, training,

and approval should have sufficient controls to ensure that nuclear criticality concerns are properly

addressed. These controls include periodically reviewing and reaffirming procedures, and properly

investigating procedure deviations and reporting them to facility management and, if appropriate, to DOE.

The controls should also ensure such deviations do not recur.

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