The Nuclear Security Team took home Columbia Generating Station’s recently created collective radiation exposure trophy for the month of April.

The trophy is awarded each month to the department that achieves superior performance in dose savings and supporting examples of how dose reduction was demonstrated.

During April, Security held second quarter tactical drills throughout Columbia Generating Station and in the radiologically controlled area.

One drill location involved an area where officers can accumulate low levels of dose. However, performing these drills multiple times with the entire security force as well as observers could result in a large overall dose accrual. Security was purposeful in pre-planning methods to maintain their dose as-low-as-reasonably-achievable and included drill planners deciding to have security officers wait in a low dose area until it was their turn to perform the drill. Additionally, the team identified two different response locations in this area. The positions are identical with the exception of dose rates due to the location of surrounding equipment. Planners chose to operate from the lower dose position.

Don Bruner, drill program coordinator, and Stephen Sullivan, protective strategy program manager, performed pre-job briefings and incorporated necessary information to ensure all officers performing the evolutions understood the decisions surrounding ALARA. They also discussed additional radiological worker practices, such as checking electronic dosimeters at least every 20 minutes and conducting self-check and peer-check regarding time spent in high dose areas.

“The actions performed during the planning and execution phases of the tactical drills provided high assurance that the team would have a predictable outcome respective to ALARA,” said Kurt Gosney, Security operations manager.

Michael Laudisio, Radiological Services manager, said industry radiation protection leaders were impressed by Security’s passion to reduce Columbia’s collective radiation exposure.

“The Security team took the time to minimize dose through planning and execution and their efforts demonstrate every millirem counts,” Laudisio said.

Michael Laudisio, Radiological Services manager, expresses his appreciation to security for focusing on as-low-as-reasonably-achievable behaviors to nuclear security officers Jon Krajewski and Tobias Niedziela and security Lt. Bret Morris.