Required Technical Competencies

DOE-STD-1183-2004

REQUIRED TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

The competencies contained in this Standard are distinct from those competencies contained in

the General Technical Base Qualification Standard. All Nuclear Safety specialists must satisfy the

competency requirements of the General Technical Base Qualification Standard prior to or in

parallel with the competency requirements contained in this Standard. Each of the competency

statements defines the level of expected knowledge and or skill that an individual must posses to

meet the intent of this Standard. The supporting knowledge and/or skill statements further

describe the intent of the competency statements.

Note: When regulations, Department of Energy directives, or other industry standards are

referenced in the Qualification Standard, the most recent revision should be used.

General Technical

1. Nuclear safety specialists shall demonstrate a working level knowledge of the fission

process.

Supporting Knowledge and/or Skills

a. Define the following terms:

Excitation energy

Critical energy

Fissile material

Fissionable material

Fertile material

b. Describe the curve of binding energy per nucleon vs. mass number and give a qualitative

description of the reasons for its shape.

c. Explain why only the heaviest nuclei are easily fissioned.

d. Explain why uranium-235 fissions with thermal neutrons and uranium-238 fissions only with

e. Characterize the fission products in terms of mass groupings and radioactivity.

2. Nuclear safety specialists shall demonstrate a familiarity level knowledge of the

various methods to reduce exposure.

Supporting Knowledge and/or Skills

a. Describe aspects of dose reduction:

Time

Distance

Shielding

Inverse square law

ALARA

3. Nuclear safety specialists shall demonstrate a familiarity level knowledge of criticality

control, safety parameters, alarm systems and poisons.