Requirements - hdbk60040070

DOE-HDBK-6004-99

It is important to distinguish between a DOE nuclear facility and a DOE general radiological facility.

The requirements on DOE nuclear facilities are substantially greater because of the possible greater

risk to the public, the environment and the worker for accidents. The current categorization of

nuclear facility is by inventory of radioactive materials. For this document, tritium is of concern. The

current categorization is based on DOE-STD-1027-92:

Less than 1,000 Curies

General Radiological Facility

1,000 to 30,000 Curies

Category IV Nuclear Facility

Low Hazard

30,000 Curies and up

Category II Nuclear Facility

Moderate Hazard

Category I is a High Hazard facility and are currently only category A reactors and other facilities as

designated by the DOE Program Secretary Office.

There are no tritium facilities in the US that are designated as Category I. It has not been determined

if a demonstration fusion power plant would be a Category I facility. The Nuclear Safety Rules and

Nuclear Safety Orders discussed in section 3 apply to all nuclear facilities.

The requirements for control and accountability in other countries is not discussed in this section.

Requirements

The requirements placed on the control and accountability of tritium fall into three categories. Those

required by the US Law, those required by DOE Orders and those required by "good practices." It

is also important to note that requirements are not consistent throughout the international community.

There is considerable variation across the international community.

Shipping requirements are defined for international shipments.

Legal Requirements

The legal requirements on tritium measurement are of the following types:

Environment facility emissions which included air emissions and releases to the ground water or at

facilities outfalls. These include federal and state requirements. Some of the requirements for fusion

facility that handles tritium are defined in the following laws:

1. Clean Water Act for water quality standards and effluent limitations,

2. National Environmental Policy Act for impacts of proposed activities,

3. Federal Clean Air Act which sets ambient air quality standards,

4. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).