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DOE Orders and Guides Relevant to Meteorology Programs

DOE has issued a number of orders and guides that are relevant to the collection, processing, and use of meteorological data. The following are summaries of, and links to, some of these key documents.

DOE Order 151.1C, "Comprehensive Emergency Management System" describes DOE's emergency management system.
DOE O 151.1C establishes policy; assigns roles and responsibilities; and provides the framework for the developing, coordinating, controlling, and directing the Department's emergency management system.  Requirements for the use of meteorological data are incorporated into the Order. Additional information on DOE O 151.1C can be found on the EMISIG DOE O 151.1C webpage. 

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The Emergency Management Guides (DOE G 151.1) provides an acceptable approach for implementing the requirements and expectations of DOE O 151.1C. The Guides discuss a variety of emergency management program elements that comprise a comprehensive system of emergency management:  

  • Hazards Survey and Hazards Assessment
  • Emergency Response Organization
  • Offsite Response Interfaces
  • Categorization and Classification
  • Notifications and Communications
  • Consequence Assessment
  • Protective Actions and Reentry
  • Emergency Medical Support
  • Emergency Public Information
  • Emergency Facilities and Equipment
  • Termination and Recovery
  • Program Administration
  • Training and Drills
  • Exercises
  • Readiness Assurance

DOE G 151.1 is divided into five volumes that discuss each of the above elements in detail. Information and links to each volume of DOE G 151.1 can be found on the EMISIG DOE G 151.1 webpage. 

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DOE O 458.1, “Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment,” was issued in February 2011.  The purpose of DOE O 458.1 is “to establish requirements to protect the public and the environment against undue risk from radiation associated with radiological activities conducted under the control of the DOE.” This Order includes two specific provisions that pertain to meteorological monitoring:

  • Environmental monitoring must be conducted to characterize routine and non-routine releases of radioactive material from radiological activities, estimate the dispersal pattern in the environs, characterize the pathway(s) of exposure to members of the public and estimate the doses to individuals and populations in the vicinity of the site or operation commensurate with the nature of the DOE radiological activities and the risk to the public and the environment. Environmental monitoring must include meteorological monitoring. Meteorological monitoring must be commensurate with the level of site radiological activities, the site topographical characteristics, and the distance to critical receptors. The scope must be sufficient to characterize atmospheric dispersion and model the dose to members of the public over distances commensurate with the magnitude of potential source terms and possible pathways to the atmosphere.

  • Records to be collected and stored include those covering effluent monitoring and environmental surveillance information and data, including meteorological data used in assessing dose.

DOE O 458.1 requires quality-assured meteorological data to support DOE Sites in ensuring that radiological dose limits are not exceeded. The Order replaces and modernizes DOE O 5400.5, “Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment,” which did not explicitly mention meteorological monitoring. The only elements of DOE O 5400.5 that remain in effect are Chapter III, Derived Concentration Guides for Air and Water and Figure IV-1, Surface Contamination Guidelines. 

DOE O 5400.5 was issued in February 1990 to address the requirement that radiological dose limits to the public and environment are not exceeded due to normal operations at DOE Sites. Although DOE O 5400.5 was silent on meteorological monitoring requirements, DOE sites had to comply with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) codified under 40 CFR 61 Subpart H.  Because radionuclides are classified as hazardous air pollutants by EPA, a demonstration of DOE’s compliance with NESHAP required DOE sites to have a quality-assured, five year meteorological data base (including wind speed, wind direction, and an indicator of atmospheric stability) as input for EPA-approved air quality modeling. 

The issuance of DOE O 458.1 did not change the operating situation for DOE meteorological programs, as the implied requirements in DOE O 5400.5 were already being met by Site meteorological monitoring programs that provided data for other applications (e.g., emergency management, nuclear safety, operations, environmental safety & health).  

A Crosswalk Report: DOE O 5400.5 and DOE O 458.1 was published in November 2011 to highlight the requirement changes that were made in transitioning from DOE O 5400.5 to DOE O 458.1. In its 144 pages, the crosswalk report presents 165 requirements that have changed. The two requirements that have a component relevant to meteorological monitoring programs are:

REQUIREMENT NUMBER RPPE-0085
(See page 77 in the Crosswalk Report)

DECISION: Modify

BASIS FOR DECISION: Update demonstration of compliance with current Orders, guidance and field scenarios.

BEGINNING CITATION: II.6   

ENDING CITATION: 4.e (1)-(10)

REQUIREMENT DESCRIPTION: DEMONSTRATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE DOSE LIMITS. Compliance with the dose limits of this Order shall be demonstrated by documentation of an appropriate combination of measurements and calculations to evaluate potential doses and the results of the evaluations.

PORTION OF THE REVISED REQUIREMENT RELEVANT TO METEOROLOGY PROGRAMS:

  4.e Demonstrating Compliance with the Public Dose Limit.
 (9) Environmental monitoring must be conducted to characterize routine and non-routine releases of radioactive material from radiological activities, estimate the dispersal pattern in the environs, characterize the pathway(s) of exposure to members of the public and estimate the doses to individuals and populations in the vicinity of the site or operation commensurate with the nature of the DOE radiological activities and the risk to the public and the environment… Environmental monitoring must include, but is not limited to:
(c) Meteorological Monitoring. Meteorological monitoring must be commensurate with the level of site radiological activities, the site topographical characteristics, and the distance to critical receptors. The scope must be sufficient to characterize atmospheric dispersion and model the dose to members of the public over distances commensurate with the magnitude of potential source terms and possible pathways to the atmosphere.

REQUIREMENT NUMBER RPPE-0101
(see page 93 in the Crosswalk Report)

DECISION:  Modify

BASIS FOR DECISION: Need to recognize the importance of records. Text of this DOE 5400.5 requirement generally retained with minor editing in DOE O 458.1. Deleted reference to paragraph II.6 of DOE 5400.5.

BEGINNING CITATION: II.8.a  

ENDING CITATION: 4.l (1)-(4)

REQUIREMENT DESCRIPTION: RECORDS. Content. Records developed shall include information and data necessary to identify and characterize releases of radioactive material to the environment, their fate in the environment, and their probable impact on radiation doses to the public. Basic information used assess compliance with the requirements of this Order pursuant to paragraph II.6, and the results of such assessments, shall be incorporated as part of the record.

PORTION OF THE REVISED REQUIREMENT RELEVANT TO METEOROLOGY PROGRAMS:
4.l Records, Retention and Reporting Requirements.
    (2) Required records include the following:
         (h) Effluent monitoring and environmental surveillance information and data, including:
      4.  Meteorological data used in assessing dose.

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DOE/EH-0173T, “Environmental Regulatory Guide for Radiological Effluent Monitoring and Environmental Surveillance” was issued in January 1991. This guide was developed to assist DOE site contractors in its implementation of DOE O 5400.5 and contained some limited guidance on meteorological monitoring program requirements. A revised Meteorological Monitoring section (DOE/EH-0173T Chapter 4) was issued by DOE in 2005 to provide more comprehensive meteorological requirements that are consistent with ANSI/ANS-3.11 (2005). 

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Site-Wide Lightning Detection and Protection: DOE/NNSA Order NSO O 440.X2 NEVEDA SITE OFFICE. The objective of this Order is to establish the requirements for site-wide lightning detection and protection at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO) Nevada Test Site (NTS) to protect property and guard the safety of NTS personnel. The provisions of this Order apply to all NNSA/NSO organizational elements including contractors, National Laboratories, other federal agencies, and other user organizations performing work under the purview of NNSA/NSO. Contractor requirements are contained in the Contractor Requirements Document that is an attachment to the Order. 

Applicability:

  • The provisions of this Order apply to all NNSA/NSO organizational elements including contractors, National Laboratories, other federal agencies, and other user organizations performing work under the purview of NNSA/NSO.
  • Contractor requirements are contained in the Contractor Requirements Document (CRD), Attachment 1. Compliance with the CRD is required to the extent set forth in an NNSA contract.