Safety Evaluation Reports - std1104

DOE-STD-1104-96

4. SAFETY EVALUATION REPORTS

The review process results in the generation of a SER integral to the facility's

authorization basis. The SER for a given facility or operation documents: (1) that an

appropriate review of the DSA and TSRs was conducted and (2) bases for approving

these documents and any conditions of approval. Approval signifies that DOE has

accepted these documents as appropriately documenting the safety basis of a facility and

as serving as the basis for operational controls (e.g., technical safety requirements,

programmatic control, etc.) necessary to maintain an acceptable operating envelope.

The SER is developed specifically to document acceptance of the DSA and TSRs.

Therefore, significant issues concerning these documents are typically resolved and

incorporated in the DSA and TSRs before the final SER is prepared. An analysis that

was not performed during preparation of the DSA and TSRs but is determined to be

required to complete the review is also documented independently of the SER. Only

statements pertinent to accepting the facility basis are included in the SER. In

accomplishing this, informed judgment and discretion are used to focus the SER on facts

that clearly reflect the actual conditions of the facility safety basis. The SER does not

need to repeat in wholesale fashion material contained in the DSA and TSRs.

The SER is intended to provide an overall summary of the methodology, assumptions,

bases, conclusions, and commitments in the DSA and TSRs rather than a total reanalysis

(i.e., independent verification and validation) of those activities addressed in the these

documents. During the review process selected limited independent verification and

validation can be performed, for example in cases where (1) there may be significant

questions about the validity of the original analysis, (2) where the risks are significant,

and/or (3) the analysis is critical to the overall conclusions in the DSA and TSRs;

however, significant discrepancies should be resolved as part of the development effort

for the DSA and TSRs and, if deemed appropriate, only briefly documented in the SER.

The SER clearly states any conditions of approval that impose additional commitments to

which facility management must adhere beyond those already documented in the DSA

and TSRs. In general, conditions that could be incorporated into the body of these

documents are so incorporated during the review process as prompted by issue

resolution (as opposed to being addressed in the SER and potentially invalidating

portions of the DSA and TSRs). However, if necessary, the approval authority can

expedite approval by defining specific conditions of approval in the SER without requiring

revision of the DSA and TSRs.

Approval statements addressing specific areas of the safety basis are augmented with

brief summaries of the most significant facility-specific points in those areas to provide a

basic context to understand what is being approved. In stating the adequacy of the

approval bases, it may also prove advantageous and/or warranted for the SER to discuss

areas of concern or issues with significant ramifications for facility operations. Generally,

these issues will have been resolved and any inquiries into them will have been

completed during the review process. Any discussion of issues in the SER should be on

a summary level and directed towards clarifying some specific aspect of approval or

demonstrating understanding of some aspect of the facility safety basis.

If the SER imposes a condition of approval (e.g., additional compensatory measures,

alterations of stated commitments, etc.) on the facility safety basis documented in the

DSA and TSRs, then the SER necessarily modifies that facility safety basis. In such

cases, conditions cited in the SER become part of the facility safety basis. Therefore, a

facility safety basis is composed of an approved DSA and TSRs modified as necessary

by the SER to reflect DOE-imposed conditions of authorization. The SER or

memorandum stating the conditions is subsequently appended to the DSA and TSRs.