PERFORMANCE CRITERIA FOR CATEGORIES III AND IV HDCLEAR MATERIALS

DOE policy requires that DOE facilities protect and control the use of nuclear materials in such a manner that national security, program continuity and the health and safety of the public are not adversely impacted. Current implementation of this policy is based largely on compliance to specified requirements. Such requirements have not addressed site-specific situations and do not provide a means to quantify how well an integrated safeguards system is achieving policy objectives. The proposed performance criteria for Categories III and IV nuclear materials which are in the early stages of development address the potential impact on public health and safety of the use of these quantities of materials. These criteria attempt to provide more clear and consistent guidance regarding graded protection than do the current orders. Details of the proposed criteria are presented from the standpoint of a laboratory facility rather than a production facility.