Download or read book Unreviewed Disposal Question written by and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 5 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Department of Energy's waste management Order, DOE O 435.1, requires that low--level waste disposal facilities develop and maintain a radiological performance assessment to ensure that disposal operations are within a performance envelope defined by performance objectives for long-term protection of the public and the environment. The Order also requires that a radiological composite analysis be developed and maintained to ensure that the disposal facility, in combination with other sources of radioactive material that may remain when all DOE activities have ceased, will not compromise future radiological protection of the public and the environment. The Order further requires that a Disposal Authorization Statement (DAS) be obtained from DOE Headquarters and that the disposal facility be operated within the performance assessment, composite analysis, and DAS. Maintenance of the performance assessment and composite analysis includes conducting test, research, and monitoring activit ies to increase confidence in the results of the analyses. It also includes updating the analyses as changes are proposed in the disposal operations, or other information requiring an update, becomes available. Personnel at the Savannah River Site have developed and implemented an innovative process for reviewing proposed or discovered changes in low-level radioactive waste disposal operations. The process is a graded approach to determine, in a disciplined manner, whether changes are within the existing performance envelope, as defined by the performance assessment, composite analysis, and DAS, or whether additional analysis is required to authorize the change. This process is called the Unreviewed Disposal Question (UDQ) process. It has been developed to be analogous to the Unreviewed Safety Question (UDQ) process that has been in use within DOE for many years. This is the first formalized system implemented in the DOE complex to examine low-level waste disposal changes the way the U nreviewed Safety Question process examines changes in nuclear facility operations. The process, which ensures that proposed or discovered changes receive the appropriate level of review, is now being used whenever changes such as new waste streams or changes in the design of a waste disposal unit are proposed at SRS. The process involves going through a series of questions to ensure that the change is within the existing performance envelope. Two series of questions are used. The first is a simple screening process. If the change is obviously within the performance envelope, it will be screened from further evaluation. If it cannot be screened, technical personnel involved in the performance assessment, composite analysis, and DAS processes, perform a more detailed evaluation using the second set of questions. If the evaluation shows that the change is within the performance envelope, it can be approved within the contractor's organization. If the evaluation does not clearly conclude t hat the change is within the performance envelope, then a Special Analysis or other more extensive study is triggered. This is a disciplined way to be sure that one knows which changes are significant and which are not, so that the proper attention can be given to the changes that are significant.