Training | Project Experience

Client/Site:

Pacific Gas & Electric / Humboldt Bay Nuclear Power Plant

Project:

MARSAME Training & Procedure Development

Project Description:

Bartlett Nuclear, Inc. (BNI) developed a two-day training session that provided Humboldt Bay personnel an introductory overview of the Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Assessment of Materials and Equipment Manual (MARSAME), recently issued as Supplement 1 to NUREG-1575.

  • Session 1 topics covered: MARSAME overview, terminology, purpose and scope, relationship between MARSSIM and MARSAME, data lifecycle as applied to MARSAME; MARSAME planning phase, goals, initial assessments; MQO process; disposition criteria & options; developing decision rules; survey design; MARSAME Survey Implementation Phase, Assessment Phase and Decision Phase
  • Session 2 topics covered: MARSAME evaluations for Fermi 1 systems, materials and equipment associated with the decommissioning effort performed at the Fermi 1 site; ancillary systems; materials & equipment used within Fermi 1’s radiological restricted area; lessons learned from past MARSAME surveys and how to better utilize MARSAME methodology and cost/benefits associated with the application of MARSAME.

Results: demonstration of how MARSAME can save survey time, translating into cost savings and schedule enhancements

Subsequent to the MARSAME training session, BNI developed a MARSAME-compliant procedure to support the development of disposition survey designs for material and equipment (M&E) at the site. BNI performed the following services to complete this project:

  • Initial assessment of M&E, involving a 1-week comprehensive review of existing reports and data, compilation of site-specific data and evaluation of known radiological conditions
  • 2-week onsite visit including a walk-down to identify and document physical characteristics of M&E and review potential areas for further evaluation with Humboldt Bay staff. Inspection included tanks, pumps, structural steel, transformers, boilers, pipes, conduit, ventilation, concrete blocks and asbestos-containing insulating material
  • Utilization of the 7-step Data Quality Objective (DQO) process described in MARSSIM to develop work packages that ensured MARSEAME-compliant survey designs and ensure that survey plans, instrumentation and procedures would lead to the collection of quality data that supported the disposition decisions for M&E.

Results: Incorporating the MARSAME process into the work packages ensured adequate planning for, and documentation of, important aspects of survey planning and the development of technically-defensible survey designs.