INDEX
CHAPTER IV
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVE SAFETY STANDARDS AND GENERAL NUCLEAR
EXPLOSIVE SAFETY RULES
1. GENERAL. This Chapter establishes nuclear explosive safety standards
and general nuclear explosive safety rules that apply to all DOE nuclear
explosive operations.
2. NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVE SAFETY STANDARDS. All DOE nuclear explosive
operations, including transportation, shall be evaluated against the
following qualitative standards (in the context of this Order, the
word, prevent, means to minimize the possibility; it does not mean
absolute assurance against):
a. There shall be positive measures to prevent nuclear explosives
involved in accidents or incidents from producing a nuclear yield.
b. There shall be positive measures to prevent deliberate prearming,
arming, or firing of a nuclear explosive except when directed by
competent authority.
c. There shall be positive measures to prevent the inadvertent
prearming, arming, launching, firing, or releasing of a nuclear
explosive in all normal and credible abnormal environments.
d. There shall be positive measures to ensure adequate security of
nuclear explosives pursuant to the DOE safeguard and security
requirements.
e. There shall be positive measures to prevent accidental, inadvertent,
and deliberate unauthorized dispersal of plutonium to the
environment.
3. GENERAL NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVE SAFETY RULES. The general nuclear explosive
safety rules set forth in this paragraph are mandatory for all
operations involving nuclear explosives in the custody of the DOE. Any
deviation from the following general nuclear explosive safety rules
shall be approved by the Assistant Secretary for Defense Programs.
a. Nuclear explosive safety rules shall be consistent with the nuclear
explosive safety standards listed in paragraph 2 above.
b. No operations involving nuclear explosives shall be performed until
a Nuclear Explosive Safety Study or Survey is conducted, and a
report is approved. Study reports are approved by DP-20, and Survey
reports are approved by the cognizant office Managers.
c. All operations involving nuclear explosives shall be conducted in
accordance with cognizant DOE operations office approved nuclear
explosive safety rules and safety procedures.
d. All operations involving nuclear explosives shall be performed in
accordance with approved written procedures. Reader worker
routines and checkoff lists are to be utilized for operations
involving nuclear explosive duties as determined by the cognizant
Operations Office Manager.
e. The assembly or disassembly of nuclear explosives will be performed
only at those locations authorized by the Assistant Secretary for
Defense Programs.
f. Operations, to include transportation, involving a nuclear
explosive test device not known to be one-point safe shall be
conducted only at the Nevada Test Site.
g. Production plant operations shall not be started on a nuclear
explosive until it is certified by the design agency to be
one-point safe.
h. If it is determined that a nuclear explosive previously certified to
be one-point safe no longer meets the one-point safety criteria, all
production plant operations and offsite transportation will be
immediately discontinued on that nuclear explosive. Before
production plant operations or offsite transportation can be resumed
on that nuclear explosive, a Nuclear Explosive Safety Study shall be
conducted and the study reviewed and approved by the DP-20 and the
Assistant Secretary for Defense Programs.
i. Prior to the use of special tooling, test equipment, handling
equipment, and transport equipment during nuclear explosive
operations, there shall be a safety analysis performed on the
equipment to assure that there is an adequate degree of safety
inherent in their design and use.
4. SUPPLEMENTAL NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVE SAFETY RULES. Managers responsible for
nuclear explosive operations shall assure that supplemental safety
rules recommended by Nuclear Explosive Safety Studies or Surveys are
fully considered and implemented, as required, to supplement the
nuclear explosive safety standards and general nuclear explosive safety
rules for specific operations with nuclear explosives; or to address
specific characteristics of an individual design of a nuclear
explosive, a specific test, or an operation.