Criticality alarm system design guide with accompanying alarm system development for the Radiochemical Processing Laboratory in Richland, Washington

A detailed instructional manual was created to guide criticality safety engineers through the process of designing a criticality alarm system (CAS) for Department of Energy (DOE) hazard class 1 and 2 facilities. Regulatory and technical requirements were both addressed. A list of design tasks and technical subtasks was compiled and analyzed to provide concise direction for how to complete the analysis. An example of the application of the design methodology, the Criticality Alarm System developed for the Radiochemical Processing Laboratory (RPL) of Richland, Washington is also included. The analysis for RPL utilized the Monte Carlo code MCNP5 for establishing detector coverage in the facility. Based on the design methodology, significant improvements to the existing CAS were made that increase the reliability, transparency, and coverage of the system.Pacific Northwest National LaboratoriesNuclear EngineeringMastersUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of Chemical and Nuclear EngineeringBusch, RobertCooper, GaryUeki, TaroHecht, Ada