Nuclear Science Integrated Safety Management Plan

Revised 06/01/05

Introduction

The Nuclear Science Division (NSD) performs basic research in the areas of relativistic heavy-ion physics, nuclear physics, nuclear theory, nuclear astrophysics, nuclear chemistry, nuclear data evaluation and detector development. The Integrated Safety Management Plan (ISM) describes the Division program and commitment to integrating safety awareness into all levels of the Division’s activities. NSD is committed to performing its work safely and in a manner that ensures adequate protection for employees, guests, the general public, Lab assets, and the environment.

ISM Implementation

The NSD ISM Plan incorporates the seven guiding principles and five core functions of ISM for improving safety in the workplace. (See Appendix)

The ISM Plan establishes a fundamental management strategy to ensure that all work is carried out in a safe manner consistent with appropriate institutional and divisional EH&S policies and procedures. The plan covers all Nuclear Science Division employees and guests, including students, regardless of work location. Work at the U.C. campus will conform to the LBL-UC Partnership agreement.

The Division plan is discussed annually at a mandatory All-Hands meeting on ES&H and can be read on the Division Web site. Changes in policy, lessons learned and other information are transmitted by e-mail, at group meetings and by members of the ES&H Committees.

Responsibility and Accountability

The Division Director is responsible for assuring that all NSD activities are carried out in a safe manner, in accordance with applicable Laboratory requirements. The ES&H Coordinator oversees the Division ES&H program and is responsible for its effectiveness and auditability.

Program Heads are responsible for establishing and maintaining appropriate oversight of ES&H procedures and activities.

Group Leaders are responsible for ensuring that work performed by members of the group is conducted in a safe manner, in accordance with appropriate Division and Laboratory procedures and requirements and for ensuring correction of deficiencies on a timely basis. Each individual group member has this same responsibility.

Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that Division employees and guests have appropriate training and regular oversight.

Shared responsibility exists for employees matrixed from other divisions and may be spelled out in agreements with those divisions. Matrixed employees participate in NSD activities, such as emergency teams, self-assessment teams and ES&H Committees and are integrated into facility operations.

ES&H Committees

The NSD Safety Committee consists of a Chair, the Division’s ES&H Coordinator, and program representatives or group leaders, including a representative from the 88-Inch Cyclotron Safety Committee. The Committee meets quarterly. The committee reviews new projects to insure that all required procedures are followed and Lab requirements met before work begins. The Committee also reviews accidents and occurrences to determine root causes and trends and recommends procedures and policies to the Division Director.

The 88-Inch Cyclotron Safety Committee meets quarterly. The Committee consists of representatives from Cyclotron operations staff and research groups, the Division’s ES&H Coordinator and the Cyclotron’s Radiological Technician (see below). The Division's EH&S Liaison is invited to the meetings of the NSD Safety Committee and the 88-Inch Cyclotron Safety Committee. The Committee reviews projects and addresses ES&H issues pertinent to the safe operation of the Cyclotron.

The Committees participate in Self-Assessment activities and can propose corrective actions.

Scope of Work

The principal objective of the Nuclear Science Division is the experimental and theoretical investigation of nuclear physics and chemistry, with a focus on understanding nuclei and nuclear matter under extreme conditions. The Division operates the 88-Inch Cyclotron for basic and applied research. In addition to the basic research program at the 88-Inch Cyclotron, work-for-others is also performed. Members of the Division participate in off-site experiments, e.g., RHIC, CERN, SNO, etc.

Work Authorization

Major projects undergo a formal Operational Readiness Review (ORR) or Accelerator Readiness Review (ARR) under DOE direction. Smaller projects undergo internal readiness reviews and work authorization processes performed by program and Division management as described below.

Cyclotron experiments are reviewed by the Cyclotron staff. Experiments that require new or modified setups or changes to the facility are referred to the Technical Safety Subcommittee (TSS) of the Cyclotron’s ES&H Committee. The TSS reviews the experiments in both the design stage and before implementation. Other changes to the facility, such as the reconfiguration of shielding, are also reviewed by the TSS.

For other projects, the Hazard, Equipment, Authorizations Review (HEAR) form or equivalent is prepared for new or modified experiments and reviewed annually. Based on information contained in the HEAR form, the project can be approved or further documentation or authorization required. Authorizations such as Activity Hazard Documents are prepared by the project leader, reviewed by the ES&H Committee and then forwarded to EH&S Division. These authorizations are reviewed annually.

Work requiring a Radiation Work Authorization (RWA) or Sealed Source Authorization (SSA) will be performed in accordance with the authorization issued by the EH&S Division. EH&S Division reviews these annually.

Oversight and site-specific safety training for off-site experiments is conducted by the host institutions. However, for work at non-DOE sites, a HEAR form will be completed and reviewed by the ES&H Committee. Large off-site experiments often have significant documentation in ES&H and QA.

Qualification and Training

NSD selects and assigns personnel in accordance with the RPM and HR procedures. Staff and guests are selected based on their knowledge, skills and experience.

Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that assigned employees/guests whose anticipated assignment with NSD exceeds 90 days complete a Job Hazards Questionnaire (JHQ). Users of the 88” Cyclotron complete a facility-specific Questionnaire. JHQs are updated when work scope changes and both JHQs and training status are reviewed annually during the P2R process.

Performance Metrics

The effectiveness of the plan will be assessed against a set of performance metrics as part of the annual Self-Assessment (SA) process. The ES&H Committee will review data from Division and Laboratory inspections, walkthroughs, reviews, SA, IFA, MESH to track and trend where appropriate and will, where appropriate, identify corrective actions. Some areas to address in detail: accident and injury rates; exposures, environmental releases and all occurrence reports.

Resources

ES&H costs are integrated into project expenses.

To facilitate implementation of the ISM Plan, the following Division resources are made available:

0.40 FTE Division EH&S Coordinator

0.33 FTE Administrative Assistant

The following resources are made available by the EH&S Division for the Cyclotron program:

1.00 FTE Radiological Control Technician

.10 FTE Health Physicist and

0.20 FTE Field Support Department Division Liaison

NSD also receives support from EH&S Division professionals as-needed for specific expertise: hazard evaluation, waste management, industrial hygiene consultation occurrence reporting and, participation in Division and Laboratory self-assessment activities

Summary

The goal of NSD is to perform world class research in a manner that protects the health and safety of our employees and visitors. Although NSD has a good safety record, it is the goal of the Division to continue to improve its safety performance. This ISM Management Plan is an attempt to integrate safety awareness into all levels of the Division’s activities. This Plan will be reviewed annually and updated as needed to facilitate compliance with regulatory requirements and to enhance the effectiveness of the Plan.

Nuclear Science Division Safety Committees

Division Safety Committee

Dennis Collins, 88-Inch Cyclotron

Brian Fujikawa, INPA

Kathie Hardy, ES&H Coordinator

Kevin Lesko, Neutrino Astrophysics (Chair)

Augusto Macchiavelli, Low Energy

Jorgen Randrup, Theory Group

Ralf Sudowe, Heavy Elements

James Thomas, RNC

Linnea Wahl, EH&S Division Liaison

88-Inch Cyclotron Safety Committee

Jeff Bramble, Radiological Control Technician

Dennis Collins, Cyclotron Deputy (Chair)

Robert Fairchild, Radiological Control Technician

Paul Fallon, Nuclear Structure Group

Carol Fried, EH&S Division

Ken Gregorich, Heavy Element Group

Kathie Hardy, EH&S Coordinator

Claude Lyneis, Program Head

Peggy McMahan, Research Coordinator

Jim Morel, Operators’ Supervisor

Larry Phair, Nuclear Reactions Group

James Powell, BEARS

Jim Rice, Emergency Team Leader

Paul Vetter, Weak Interactions Group

Appendix

Seven Guiding EH&S Principles:

• Line management responsibility
• Clear and unambiguous lines of authority are identified and maintained
• Competence commensurate with responsibilities is attained by personnel
• Balanced priorities are used to allot resources for research and safety needs.
• Hazards and standards are identified before any hazardous work is performed.
• Controls (administrative/engineering) are in place to prevent and mitigate hazards.
• Operational authorizations are acquired before hazardous work is begun.

Five Core EH&S Functions:

• Define and Plan the Work
• Hazard and Risk Analysis environment
• Establishment of Controls
• Work Performance
• Analysis and Feedback

More details can be found by reviewing the Laboratory “Integrated Environment, Health and Safety Management Pla” at http://www.lbl.gov/ehs/ism/Title.html