Independent Assessment of Nuclear Criticality Safety Program and Controls for the Uranium-233 Processing Campaign at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Office of Enterprise Assessments
April 26, 2023
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April 2023,
Independent Assessment of Nuclear Criticality Safety Program and Controls for the Uranium-233 Processing Campaign at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA) conducted an independent assessment of the nuclear criticality safety (NCS) program (NCSP) and controls implementation for uranium-233 (U-233) processing campaign activities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory on January 23-27, 2023. Isotek Systems, LLC (Isotek) is the primary contractor for the U-233 processing campaign, with the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) having overall Federal oversight responsibilities. The primary objective of this assessment was to evaluate the effectiveness of Isotek’s updates to the Building 2026 and 3019 NCSP, controls, and operating practices supporting the campaign’s high-dose U-233 disposition activities. Additionally, the assessment evaluated the effectiveness of OREM oversight of Isotek’s NCS activities related to the campaign.