EFCOG Best Practice #13

Practical Criticality Controls Training Facility

Facility: BNFL Inc. – Oak Ridge East Tennessee Technology Park 3-Building D&D Project

Point of contact:

• Ken Meyer, Phone: 303-874-3977, E-mail: kmeyer@bnflinc.com

Brief description of the Best Practice

Given the dynamic nature of D&D activities, providing "hands-on" criticality safety training in a mock-up Facility: improves understanding and confidence in the proficiency, safety awareness and procedural knowledge of personnel. Maintaining an effective nuclear criticality safety (NCS) program at decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) projects presents unique challenges. NCS programs typically require a combination of Engineered Safety Features and Administrative Controls (AC) to maintain the safety envelope at nuclear facilities. The mock-up Facility: training also satisfies the requirements of ANSI/ANS-8.20 Nuclear Criticality Safety Training.

Why the best practice was used:

D&D activities at the Three Building D&D Project at the East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge, TN involved a variety of tasks with different criticality controls. Workers routinely perform both non-fissile and fissile activities with fissile materials at various degrees of enrichment.  Workers are required to distinguish between stain, thin film, and significant uranium deposits during work activities and are expected to follow the proper criticality safety controls for each type deposit.

 By training workers in a controlled environment that simulates actual conditions encountered during operations, the understanding of and development of proficiencies  in criticality safety control and related work practices can be measured and documented prior to entering the work area. (See the photos.)

What are the benefits of the best practice

Using this mock-up Facility: to train personnel improves complying with work control documents and satisfies the requirements of the ANSI standard. By providing "hands-on" training in a relaxed environment to workers, comprehension of criticality safety requirements was improved and workers were able to interact more effectively with Criticality Safety Subject Matter Experts. Workers have the opportunity to understand the criticality safety requirements and to practice implementing them in the dynamic setting that D&D activities create. Routinely training a wide variety of individuals in this environment also helps identify potential procedural weaknesses. D&D work typically utilizes a transitory work force and this training ensures competency before performing fissile material activities.

What problems/issues were associated with the Best Practice

The few problems were associated with minor delays in the development and approval of the training lesson plans during the first practice sessions conducted by the NCS Engineers in an effort to ensure the curriculum met the needs of the workforce and all information was accurate. Beginning a project with this type of "hands-on," interactive training would eliminate the issues associated with workers understanding the intricacies of nuclear criticality safety at project startup.

How the success of the Best Practice was measured

This training has received positive feedback from the operators, was identified as a noteworthy practice by the Department of Energy and was complimented by the Independent Criticality Safety Review Committee.

Description of process experience using the Best Practice:

Walk-downs of fissile material operations with trained personnel indicate that they have a much better understanding of criticality safety control requirements. The training sessions facilitate dialog between Nuclear Criticality Safety and operations personnel. The training consists of a walkthrough to identify NCS violations, a fissile material task designed to assess procedural understanding and work practices, and feedback based on task performance.

CRITLAND is a mockup Facility: that allows for
hands-on training of fissile material workers