The probability of process laboratory errors affecting reprocessing operations

Probabilistic methods are used to assess the risks of postulated accidents at the Savannah River Plant (SRP), operated for the United States Department of Energy by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. The SRP includes two reprocessing areas, one for depleted uranium targets and one for enriched uranium fuels. In the preparation of the Safety Analysis Report for these reprocessing areas, rare-event frequencies are calculated by fault-tree analysis (FTA). In many SRP reprocessing operations, nuclear safety is provided by dilution of fissile materials to safe concentrations rather than by vessel dimensions and geometry. Thus the process laboratory at SRP has an especially important role in both process control and safety