Lead Investigator: Steven L. Krahn (Vanderbilt University)
Additional Investigators: Lyndsey Fyffe (DOE-EHSS); Megan Harkema, David Kosson (Vanderbilt)

Project Objectives:

CRESP is working with EM-3/3.1 to enhance the guidance available to DOE-EM and its contractors for the use of quantitative and risk-informed decision making (RIDM) in safety-related applications at EM’s nuclear facilities. The project is in response to feedback regarding opportunities for clarification of the application of the methods described in DOE-STD-1628-2013 & DOE-STD-3009-2014. The goals of this project are to:

• Identify opportunities to enhance the application of RIDM in DOE-EM by developing a draft EM-specific guidance document on the application of quantitative methods in safety-related decision making; and
• Using that guidance, provide training on the application of the guidance, including performing a limited number of tailored case studies on DOE-EM facilities.

Significance/Impact:
Integrating risk-informed decision making into the design, operation, and decommissioning of nuclear facilities in the United States has been recognized at all levels— from the technical (e.g., guidance from the NRC [U.S. NRC, 2008] and DOE [U.S. DOE, 2013] regarding the use if risk-informed/graded approaches to safety analysis) to the programmatic (e.g.,  the NRC’s draft Risk-Informed,  Technology Inclusive Regulatory Framework for Advanced Reactors [10 CFR 53]). The DOE has been repeatedly encouraged by various organizations, including Congress, the GAO, and the National Academies to establish a risk-informed framework for decision making. From the EM perspective, the use of risk-informed methods to make cleanup decisions is especially critical in the management of environmental legacies to ensure that the allocation of federal taxpayer monies is both cost-effective and commensurate with risk.

Public Benefits:

The use of risk-informed methods to make cleanup decisions is especially critical in the management of environmental legacies to ensure that the allocation of federal taxpayer monies is cost-effective and commensurate with risk.  This project also provides methodologies to further enhance the nuclear-chemical processing safety paradigm, thus benefitting public health and safety.

References: (* indicates CRESP publication)

U.S. DOE. (2013). Development of Probabilistic Risk Assessments for Nuclear Safety Applications, DOE-STD-1628-2013, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Energy.

U.S. DOE. (2014). Preparation of Nonreactor Nuclear Facility Documented Safety Analysis, DOE-STD-3009-2014, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Energy.

U.S. NRC. (2008). Risk-Informed Decisionmaking for Nuclear Material and Waste Applications, Rev. 1, ML080720238.

*Omnibus Risk Review Committee (M. Greenberg, G. Apostolakis, T. Fields, B. Goldstein, S. Krahn, R.B. Matthews, J. Rispoli, J. Stewart), A Review of the Use of Risk-Informed Management in the Cleanup Program for Former Defense Nuclear Sites, August 2015. Available at: https://www.cresp.org/reviews-reports/omnibus/

*M.R. Greenberg, G. Apostolakis, T. Fields, B.D. Goldstein, D. Kosson, S. Krahn, R.B. Matthews, J. Rispoli, J. Stewart. (2019). Advancing Risk-Informed Decision Making in Managing Defense Nuclear Waste in the United States: Opportunities and Challenges for Risk Analysis, 39(2):375-388.