Independent Assessment of the Transuranic Waste All-Hazards Planning Basis at the Los Alamos National Laboratory
Office of Enterprise Assessments
May 31, 2023
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May 2023,
Independent Assessment of the Transuranic Waste All-Hazards Planning Basis at the Los Alamos National Laboratory
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA) conducted an independent assessment of the all-hazards planning basis for transuranic (TRU) waste operations at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) during January 2023. This assessment evaluated the effectiveness of both the National Nuclear Security Administration Los Alamos Field Office (NA-LA) and its management and operating contractor, Triad National Security, LLC (Triad), in developing and maintaining the all-hazards planning basis for TRU waste operations. The all-hazards planning basis includes development and maintenance of an all-hazards survey and an emergency planning hazards assessment (EPHA). DOE Order 151.1D, Comprehensive Emergency Management System, identifies requirements for the all-hazards planning basis, and the associated emergency management guide provides guidance for implementing the requirements. EA focused primarily on hazard identification and screening and the documented analysis for supporting the development of response plans, emergency action levels, predetermined protective actions, and sizing of the emergency planning zone. EA also evaluated the utility of the EPHA as a reference for a consequence assessment team when conducting dispersion modeling of analyzed release scenarios.