January 2016

Review of the Safety Basis F-Area Central Laboratory Facility at the Savannah River Site

The Office of Nuclear Safety and Environmental Assessments, within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) independent Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA), conducted a targeted review of the Savannah River Site F-Area Central Laboratory Facility (referred to as the F/H Laboratory) to evaluate changes in the Safety Analysis Report (SAR) and Technical Safety Requirements (TSRs).  The F/H Laboratory is an analytical nuclear facility operated by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) under the direction and oversight of the DOE Savannah River Operations Office (DOE-SR).  This review was conducted to evaluate changes in the SAR based on the revised atmospheric radiological dispersion analysis methodology and on the implementation of actions required in DOE Operating Experience (OE) document OE-1: 2013-01, Improving DOE Capabilities for Mitigating Beyond Design Basis Events.  This EA review also addressed overall conformance of selected aspects of the SAR and the TSR to DOE-STD-3009-94 Change Notice 3, Preparation Guide for U.S. Department of Energy Nonreactor Nuclear Facility Document Safety Analyses.  In addition, the EA review included DOE-SR’s approved Safety Evaluation Report, Addendum 17, which served as the basis of approval for the SAR and TSR.  EA conducted this review over an extended period.  Beginning with a site visit in December 2014, EA completed document reviews from January through July 2015 and provided comments to SRNS and DOE-SR, which were followed by comment responses and discussions from August through October 2015.