Establishing an authorization basis for the Plutonium Finishing Plant

In the summer of 1998, Hanford's Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) project prepared to restart its thermal stabilization process after 1(1/2)-yr suspension in operations. The facility had overcome a number of operational and safety problems, yet it had been unable to achieve appropriate update, approval, and implementation of an appropriate, current authorization basis. This problem threatened to prevent a timely restart, which, in turn, could have caused a loss in momentum and dampened enthusiasm within the facility. The authors describe the approach taken by B and W Hanford Company (BWHC) in conjunction with its partners, the US Department of Energy (DOE) Richland Operations Office and Fluor Daniel Hanford Company (FDH), to establish a defensible authorization basis, which allowed the facility to resume its mission of stabilizing reactive plutonium materials. The approach incorporates methods used within the DOE complex for short-term activities and those undergoing deactivation and implements principles of integrated safety management (ISM), as described in ''Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board [(DNFSB)] Recommendation 95-2'' and related documents