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All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Enhancing Air Traffic Control Planning with Automatic Speech Recognition

The decisions made during the Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic Control System Command Center's planning teleconferences hold significant sway over the National Airspace System. Held every two hours, these teleconferences convene air traffic managers and stakeholders from across the nation to discuss airspace conditions, weather, and constraints, leading to the formulation and adjustment of traffic management initiatives. Given the critical nature of these decisions, the need for accurate and efficient record-keeping is paramount. In recent years, the application of automatic speech recognition has gained popularity across diverse industries, including aviation. While traditional applications focus on transcribing air traffic control communication, this paper explores a unique application of automatic speech recognition by converting the audio from planning teleconferences into text transcriptions. This innovative approach addresses key challenges in the field, presenting potential benefits for quality assurance, real-time participation, and downstream natural language processing tasks. A notable breakthrough in the machine learning community, namely the transformer neural network architecture, forms the backbone of the proposed solution in this paper. The transformer architecture's role in this research represents a paradigm shift in the efficiency of automatic speech recognition models. By reducing the amount of in-domain training data required, this architecture allows for the fine-tuning of such models like Whisper, originally pretrained on vast English speech datasets. The adaptability of the transformer architecture proves invaluable in capturing the nuances of aviation terminology and specific language used in planning teleconferences. Leveraging the Whisper model as a baseline, our research details the fine-tuning and validation using a dataset comprising 20 hours of meticulously transcribed planning teleconferences. Notably, the baseline pretrained Whisper model exhibited a word error rate of 18.77%. Through the fine-tuning process, the model achieved a substantial improvement, demonstrating an impressive performance with a reduced word error rate of 6.82%. This substantial decrease in WER not only highlights the effectiveness of the transformer architecture but also emphasizes the practical advancements achieved through the application of automatic speech recognition in this specific domain. The utilization of automatic speech recognition in planning teleconferences in this work introduces several novelties. Firstly, the creation of text transcriptions offers a valuable tool for quality assurance and facilitates the efficient review of teleconferences. This is an important aspect of the proposed solution, given the time-sensitive and high-stakes nature of decisions made during these meetings. Furthermore, text-searchable transcriptions provide a streamlined approach for locating and validating critical information, potentially saving hours of manual effort in searching through audio recordings. Moreover, our research identifies a key use case for external facilities and stakeholders. In situations where attendance at the planning teleconference is not feasible, having access to text transcriptions in real-time or shortly after the teleconference ends, proves to be a time-saving and informative resource. This feature enhances collaboration and ensures that stakeholders can stay abreast of important discussions and decisions even in their absence. Despite the efficiency gains facilitated by the transformer architecture in automatic speech recognition technology, it is essential to acknowledge the human factors in data creation. Subject matter experts play a crucial role in accurately transcribing planning teleconferences due to the specificity and complexity of the information discussed. The research dataset, consisting of 20 hours of transcribed planning teleconferences, forms the foundation for fine-tuning and validating the Whisper model. The achieved word error rate of 6.82% demonstrates promising advancements, particularly in recognizing essential aviation terminology within the teleconferences. In conclusion, this paper presents a comprehensive exploration of the application of automatic speech recognition in Air Traffic Control System Command Center planning teleconferences, leveraging the transformer architecture for enhanced efficiency. The novel contributions lie in the improved accessibility of decision-making records, real-time participation opportunities for external stakeholders, and the potential for downstream natural language processing advancements. As the aviation industry continues to evolve, the integration of automatic speech recognition technologies holds the promise of revolutionizing decision-making processes and contributing to the overall safety and efficiency of air traffic management.

ATM↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Overview of the NASA Earth Action Strategies Wildland Fire Initiative

As part of NASA’s new Earth Action strategy, the Wildland Fire initiative was established, which includes both the NASA Wildland Fire Program (WFP) and the FireSense project. NASA has over 50 years of experience generating data and technology to enhance fire science and operational management. The WFP’s mission is threefold: 1) assemble communities of practice through collaborative efforts with government, academia, and the private sector; 2) co-develop knowledge and applications with relevant partners and stakeholders in the wildfire community; and 3) improve wildland fire management through the transitioning of NASA data, technology, tools, and science to stakeholder organizations. The WFP is focusing on supporting proactive fire management, including situational awareness, preparedness, and risk mitigation. This will be accomplished through selected projects that identify management challenges, relevant to partners and end users, and the NASA data that will be utilized to deliver innovative solutions to enhance the management of wildland fires. Examples include: i) investigation of evaporative stress from OpenET to help predict the risk of wildfire occurrence in watersheds; ii) incorporation of space based LiDAR for the generation of 3-dimensional forest fuel metrics, used to improve wildfire risk and behavior models; iii) integration of global, multi-platform geostationary active-fire data in near-real-time into NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS); and iv) identification of post-fire ecohydrological conditions using thermal, multispectral, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and hyperspectral remotely-sensed data to improve flood hazard forecast models. The FireSense project is a US-focused 5-year project that will focus on delivering NASA’s unique Earth science and technological capabilities to operational agencies, striving towards enhancing fire fighting and air quality management. The project will include airborne campaigns and new technology that will likely have global implications. Initial stakeholder engagement led FireSense to focus on four use-cases focused on the characterization and measurement of: (i) pre-fire fuels conditions, (ii) active fire-dynamics; (iii) post-fire impact and threats; and iv) air quality impacts and forecasting, each-developed with identified stakeholders.

Wildland Fire program↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Disasters Program’s Response to the 2023 Türkiye/Syria Earthquakes

The February 2023 Türkiye/Syria Earthquakes are an example of how the NASA Disasters Program team supported a variety of stakeholders during a disaster response. In addition to the mass damage that occurred due to the ground movement itself, this event also caused cascading hazards, such as landslides, to occur. The NASA Disasters Program received requests for support from a variety of stakeholders, which led to the activation of the team. We were able to provide multiple relevant products to our stakeholders, supporting their response. This poster reviews the disaster life cycle through the lens of the NASA Disasters Program, highlighting key aspects of the coordination with stakeholders and how Earth observation data can aid in situational awareness during disaster response.

Rachel Soobitsky↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Discovering Digital Engineering Needs Through Human-Centered Approaches

Digital engineering has the power to transform organizations in profound ways, but digitizing legacy workflows and infusing new technologies into existing practices may not yield the intended results or address the underlying problems or bottlenecks. This paper describes the human-centered approaches used to understand stakeholder challenges and identify digital engineering needs during the design-build-test portion of the systems development lifecycle. Through a series of interactive stakeholder workshops and need-finding activities, key stakeholder needs were identified to help guide the integration of digital engineering technologies. The overarching need was for downstream system development steps to be considered further upstream in the project lifecycle in a manner that allows for proactive and interactive co-constructive idea exploration, problem resolution, and requirements considerations in a collective engagement with engineers and technicians from multiple disciplines to increase efficiency and reduce risks while offering opportunities to improve the final engineered system. Supporting this need was a wide-ranging desire from stakeholders for digital and non-digital support structures for efficient rapid iteration during system development. This work yielded several improvements for system development processes and for digital engineering infusion.

Human-centered Design↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Discovering Digital Engineering Needs Through Human-Centered Approaches

Design Science↗

DOE OSTI2016

Examining Supply Chain Resilience for the Intermodal Shipment of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High Level Radioactive Materials

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has a significant programmatic interest in the safe and secure routing and transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) and High Level Waste (HLW) in the United States, including shipments entering the country from locations outside U.S borders. In any shipment of SNF/HLW, there are multiple chains; a jurisdictional chain as the material moves between jurisdictions (state, federal, tribal, administrative), a physical supply chain (which mode), as well as a custody chain (which stakeholder is in charge/possession) of the materials being transported. Given these interconnected networks, there lies vulnerabilities, whether in lack of communication between interested stakeholders or physical vulnerabilities such as interdiction. By identifying key links and nodes as well as administrative weaknesses, decisions can be made to harden the physical network and improve communication between stakeholders. This paper examines the parallel chains of oversight and custody as well as the chain of stakeholder interests for the shipments of SNF/HLW and the potential impacts on systemic resiliency. Using the Crystal River shutdown location as well as a hypothetical international shipment brought into the United States, this paper illustrates the parallel chains and maps them out visually.

law↗

DOE OSTI2016

Evaluation of National Adaptation Planning: A Case Study in Indonesia

The present study aims to evaluate national adaptation planning, using the National Action Plan for Climate Change Adaptation (RAN-API) in Indonesia as a case. In doing so, the current study applies the methodology used in Preston et al. (2011), where a set of 57 adaptation plans from three developed countries was evaluated against 19 planning processes. The same criteria and scoring system were applied to the current study to evaluate RAN-API, both as identified in its document and as viewed by the stakeholders. A desktop review and questionnaires were undertaken to this end. It was found that discrepancies exist between the status of RAN-API as documented and the stakeholders views of some criteria, suggesting that information or knowledge gaps may still exist despite the efforts made for stakeholder engagement. In some of the other criteria, the stakeholders views match the status as identified in the document. Most notably, they both agree that the weakness of RAN-API is related to limited consideration for non-climatic factors. While the development of RAN-API is a critical step taken in the country, the current study finds that there remains room for further improvement. The criteria or indicators to be used to assess the progress of RAN-API as a whole may need to be further elaborated.

Climate change - National adaptation planning - Mo↗

DOE OSTI2016

Examining supply chain resilience for the intermodal shipment of spent nuclear fuel and high level radioactive materials-16309

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has a significant programmatic interest in the safe and secure routing and transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) and High Level Waste (HLW) in the United States, including shipments entering the country from locations outside U.S borders. In any shipment of SNF/HLW, there are multiple chains; a jurisdictional chain as the material moves between jurisdictions (state, federal, tribal, administrative), a physical supply chain (which mode), as well as a custody chain (which stakeholder is in charge/possession) of the materials being transported. Given these interconnected networks, there lies vulnerabilities, whether in lack of communication between interested stakeholders or physical vulnerabilities such as interdiction. By identifying key links and nodes as well as administrative weaknesses, decisions can be made to harden the physical network and improve communication between stakeholders. This paper examines the parallel chains of oversight and custody as well as the chain of stakeholder interests for the shipments of SNF/HLW and the potential impacts on systemic resiliency. Here, by using the Crystal River shutdown location as well as a hypothetical international shipment brought into the United States, this paper illustrates the parallel chains and maps them out visually.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2019

WBS 4.2.1.31 Integrated Life Cycle Sustainability Analysis

The main objective of this project (following the 2017 BETO Program Peer-Review) is to provide BETO with a coherent methodology and modeling framework based on life cycle (LCA) and economic input-output analysis, tested and vetted with stakeholders, to better understand the effects of an expanding U.S. bioeconomy at specific levels including economic dimensions such as jobs, gross domestic product (value added), and environmental criteria such as air pollutant emissions, water and land use, ecotoxicity, and others. This supports a 2019 milestone in the BETO MYP and simultaneously addresses a gap previously identified in the BETO program and highlighted, e.g., by BETO Program Peer Reviewers in 2015 and 2017. To fill in this gap, NREL started collaborating with developers of the national level U.S. Environmentally-Extended Input-Output (USEEIO) model in FY18. This peer-reviewed, open source model is based on publicly available data, and developed and maintained by U.S. EPA where it has been the basis for EPA's Sustainable Material Management analyses and program. Also, USEEIO was initially designed for use with EPA's Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemicals and Other Environmental Impacts (TRACI). It aligns well with similar efforts including the Federal LCA Commons and the Sustainable Acquisition Program at the Department of Defense (DoD). In FY18, NREL convened stakeholders from federal agencies, universities, and private sector entities to identify and form a common understanding of (1) models describing the U.S. economy and how to build off of them, (2) a bioeconomy definition for the next modeling steps, (3) the (sub)sectors that can/should be used in the framework, and (4) opportunities for collaboration and data sharing. NREL then created a first order model by disaggregating, i.e., separating the economic activities associated with and attributed to a selected product of the bioeconomy: corn ethanol. Corn ethanol is well studied and has a significant amount of public, validated economic industry information. This is important as disaggregation is a critical step in creating a representative and accurate framework. Corn ethanol served as a validation test case for the method and framework. By the end of FY18, the team was able to generate several scenarios for corn ethanol on national and selected regional levels providing results on the absolute and relative (Megajoule) effects in several environmental and economic impact categories. A second objective of the project is to inform BETO's strategic decision making, specifically its sustainability research portfolio, by engaging in, evaluating, and synthesizing selected global multi-year activities from the perspectives of a variety of complex multilateral and multi-stakeholder processes that pertain to bioenergy. This helps to (1) identify gaps, barriers, and critical areas for future BETO bioenergy and sustainability assessments; (2) identify opportunities and challenges to a sustainable U.S. bioeconomy; and (3) contribute to and disseminate BETO information to and from major global bioenergy and sustainability efforts. This project's work with multilateral organizations ensures that U.S. science-based viewpoints are considered and helps to balance the influence of the large number of countries with the same centralized philosophy. This engagement builds a more solid foundation for sustainable biomass and bioenergy systems in the U.S. and in the world. Working with multi-lateral, international platforms including IEA Bioenergy, Global Bio-Energy Partnership (GBEP), and their partner organizations also allows engagement with important stakeholders including policy makers, industry, NGOs, and academia.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Innovation in Radiological Security, Part 1 of 2 – Using a Cloud Solution to Compress the Timely Detection Model

The design and implementation of new security technologies must account for numerous and complex operational challenges. For example, traditionally isolated systems must now survive amid the proliferation of network connectivity and endure the dynamic environments created by organizations tolerating bring-your-own-device policies. When evaluating the cyber, physical, or cyber-physical security of an asset, a common practice in the security industry is to apply the Timely Detection Model (TDM)—a versatile concept that relates the security functions of detection, delay, and response to the progression of an oppositional force’s attack timeline. If implemented correctly, security enhancements can compress the TDM to offer efficiencies to the stakeholders responsible for adjudicating threat scenarios. The efficiencies gained by the response force allow for more effective protection strategies to be realized. One such enhancement, deployed within the radiological security domain—the Sentry-Remote Monitoring System (Sentry-RMS)—is a stand-alone security system that detects, assesses, and communicates priority alarms as a means of thwarting internal and external threats. The SEntry-RMS CommUnications and REsponse (Sentry-SECURE) platform—an optional feature of the Sentry-RMS—is being developed to facilitate more efficient alarm adjudication by site stakeholders and, if necessary, a faster response by law enforcement. This Cloud-hosted platform receives protected information from deployed Sentry-RMS units and relays it to stakeholders that have vested interests in maintaining an elevated level of situational awareness. Operationally, this enables real-time delivery of high-priority alarm and video imagery directly to an identified response stakeholder, such as local law enforcement or site management, via natively developed mobile applications or full platform integration. The Sentry-SECURE platform, as implemented by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Radiological Security, is an example of an innovative security technology that compresses the TDM by (1) enabling a more efficient time to target and (2) better informing a response force’s predetermined tactics, techniques, and procedures. This paper explores the platform’s operational roles, highlights its principal functions, and presents a use case that demonstrates how the platform provides enhanced situational awareness when adjudicating priority alarms.

Sentry-RMS, Timely Detection Model, Sentry-SECURE↗

DOE OSTI2020

Developing a Decision Support Engine to Enable Irrigation Modernization - Poster

Irrigation systems in the United States are some of the oldest continually utilized infrastructure in existence today, with some systems exceeding 100 years in age. They are operated to meet farming demands but are managed through a balance of varying influence: policies limiting water usage, stakeholder interests, and environmental impacts. Irrigation modernization is defined as a set of activities that update and improve existing irrigation systems, including, but not limited to improving water quantity, development of distributed energy resources for surrounding communities, ecosystem services, and improved agricultural yields. Modernizing an existing irrigation system can enable stakeholders to combat changing environmental and population demands but is difficult because the complexity involved in determining the potential benefits and consequences of irrigation modernization is high. We are combining a large amount of various geospatial, tabular, and temporal data with subject matter expertise into a decision support engine that will enable stakeholders to determine the benefits and consequences of irrigation modernization in their irrigation systems. A web-based GIS will allow the user to construct the modifications out of a palette of modernization options, which will be sent to the analytics engine for computations, and back to the web client for a graphical display and comparison of relevant metrics. Our development process involves four phases: 1) identify mechanisms of modernization, 2) identify data requirements, data streams, first principles and applicable algorithms necessary to quantify modernization mechanisms, 3) create ‘modules’ for each modernization mechanism, these modules will form the decision support engine, each capable of performing independently but can also inform other modules when needed, 4) Merge the decision support engine with a user interface, capable of ingesting user inputs and returning insights into the impacts of a modernization project as they relate to economic, environmental, monetary, and energy generation. Once complete, it is our intention that this tool will be fundamental in irrigation modernization projects, providing a strong analytical basis from which stakeholders can quickly make informed decisions regarding project development.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2017

Ecological Resource Value, Remediation Options, and Impacts: Functional Remediation at Hanford Site - 17226

Governmental agencies, Tribes, regulators, resource trustees and other stakeholders are interested in understanding the risk to the environment from remediation and restoration, particularly at large DOE sites with complex remediation tasks lasting decades. While each remediation project has the usual environmental impact assessment that include risk to eco-receptors, a piece-meal approach to examining the effect of remediation does not provide an overview of remaining tasks that would aid in sequencing these tasks. The Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP) developed a risk methodology for Hanford Site that included ecological resources between 2014 and 2015. The ecological methodology included a comparison of the value of on-site resources with the eco-region, with state and federal threatened and endangered species, and with rare and unique habitats. Potential remediation options for particular evaluation units were used in conjunction with the resource level values to determine the risk of remediation of ecological resources. The methodology developed for Hanford Site also considered functional remediation (e.g. number of trucks, personnel, heavy equipment), initiating events (e.g. earthquakes, volcanos) and future land use. These factors were combined to rate the risk to ecological resources on a scale of not-discernible to very high. In this paper seven evaluation units (waste sites requiring remediation) were evaluated to explore the efficacy of the methodology to provide useful information on the comparative risk for decommissioning and waste management sites. The evaluation of resource levels was based on prior site information, state and federal data bases, and field investigations. The final determination of a risk rating for each evaluation unit depended upon both quantitative data, field experience, and professional judgement. It provides a method that can be applied to many remediation sites within a large DOE facility such as Hanford, as well as across the DOE complex. This will provide information for sound decision-making with stakeholder participation, and will allow DOE to reassure stakeholders that they are protecting human and ecological health on the Hanford Site. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2017

Evaluation of Story Maps to Enhance Public Engagement and Communication at Legacy Management Sites - 17334

The US Department of Energy's Office of Legacy Management's (LM) mission is to fulfill the department's post-closure responsibilities and to ensure protection of human health and the environment. Accomplishing that mission currently requires managing 91 legacy sites across the country by performing efficient long-term surveillance and maintenance activities, preserving and making accessible historic site records, and identifying opportunities for beneficial reuse. Integral to the success of these activities is connecting and effectively communicating with the public, governments, and other interested parties. Relationships with such entities are so important that the Office of Legacy Management has elevated such engagement to one of its strategic goals for the next 10 years. Several public engagement efforts are currently supported, including stakeholder meetings, interpretive visitor centers, hard-copy documents, and Internet-based information sources. The tools available to communicate with the public via the Internet are continually improving, and LM proactively evaluates these tools to enhance public engagement. The use of ESRI Story Maps to effectively and more succinctly communicate LM's long-term surveillance and maintenance practices is one tool currently being evaluated. Story Maps can utilize multiple types of content to engage users through site narratives, illustrations of change over time, photos, videos, and embedded links to external sources of information. The ability to illustrate site complexities via graphics and geo-spatial data is particularly useful for staff as well as communicating to stakeholders. Staff with a variety of expertise and functions in the organization can be empowered to respond to stakeholder questions using this tool. In addition, Story Maps can be easily initiated and managed in real time by LM site managers, an efficiency that would be invaluable to them as immediate site communication needs arise. A series of test Story Maps for several sites were developed to explore the capabilities of the tool. The test Story Maps included pages that described site description and overview, historical conditions and use, cleanup conditions, current monitoring data if applicable, and institutional controls. Links to existing communications tools were also incorporated in Story Maps, such as existing web sites that currently store environmental reports and the Geo-spatial Environmental Mapping System (GEMS), where stakeholders can download monitoring data. As with any tool, many things must be taken into consideration, such as: 1) Can the current IT infrastructure support the tool? 2) What data quality protocols need to be established? 2) What resources will be needed to maintain this tool? 3) What type of information should be shared? 4) Who will be responsible for information updates? This paper explores potential approaches for developing and deploying this tool for the public. (authors)

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

DOE OSTI2016

Approaches for Communicating Technical Information - 16012

Projects within the nuclear industry are generally complex and associated with high hazards. To achieve success there is often a necessity to apply innovation or adopt longer term strategies and solutions. Because of these long timescales and the fact that some approaches revolve around allowing natural radioactive decay to take place prior to visible action, the industry is sometimes perceived to be technically unable to make progress with its environmental and waste management obligations. Work within the industry additionally takes on a high profile and invariably creates greater levels of anxiety and mistrust in the eyes of stakeholders than comparable projects from non-nuclear related industries. Many aspects of the industry are still seen as secretive, environmentally detrimental and 'risky' and all components of the nuclear life-cycle are therefore open to external scrutiny. Although communication and engagement has increased greatly over the years, especially in developed countries, there is still room for improvement in this field. Such improvement might relate to the frequency and level of engagement, the subject matter or the actual process itself. Communication with stakeholders is required throughout the various phases of the nuclear lifecycle whether the activity relates to mining/milling of uranium, fuel production, operational plant activities, decommissioning, remediation or waste management. The concerns and aspirations of stakeholders during these different activities will vary but need to be adequately addressed. Some organisations now have a basic engagement program and convince themselves that they are carrying out true engagement. But just ticking a box to say that an engagement program is in place does not provide evidence of its appropriateness or success as on many occasions' organisations might still not understand how to adequately engage and communicate technical information. It is not always the information we choose to communicate but that which might be withheld that is often perceived to be most relevant to the stakeholder community. Communicating technical information isn't as straightforward as it sounds, but still has to be undertaken, otherwise trust, understanding and acceptance of chosen options will not be achieved. I utilise what I call the 'ten principles of engagement' which I believe can help when communicating technical Information in relation to nuclear and radiological matters. These are; 1. Develop Trust. 2. Educating people and providing information in a transparent manner. 3. Develop an engagement process that is truly a two way process. 4. Openly discuss risk perception and risk communication. 5. Never try to trivialise risk. 6. Where possible, simplify the language you use. 7. Put background and naturally occurring radioactivity into context. 8. Explain how radioactive materials are often used in everyday life. 9. Try to demonstrate that you too are a member of the public. 10.Walk the talk - Try to undertake what you wish others to undertake. Further research is being undertaken to determine if Mental Models might assist with the communication of nuclear and radiological information. A mental model is an explanation of someone's thought process about how something works in the real world. The mental model approach aims to investigate the judgment and decision-making processes of both expert and lay groups, thus allowing a comparison and visualisation of the different views to be made. It is undoubtedly worthwhile keeping a watching brief on the outcome of such research as we strive to improve our communication with the general public. The aim of this paper is to highlight some simple principles and approaches that can assist with the communication of technical information. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2016

Public Outreach in FUSRAP - 16201

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the lead federal agency for the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) which was initiated in 1974 to address contamination remaining from Manhattan Engineer District and early U.S. Atomic Energy Commission activities. As the lead agency, USACE follows the protocols set forth in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) to address FUSRAP sites. During certain project milestones of the CERCLA process, community outreach initiatives occur to communicate the status and/or findings from site investigations and project decision documents. The style of public interaction is tailored to match the project milestone, technical complexity of a project, the stakeholder involvement level, or type of decision being made on a particular project. Community involvement is one of the most important aspects of environmental work, and proactive and transparent communication can build meaningful relationships with the community and between project stakeholders. The USACE Buffalo District has experience using different stakeholder interaction techniques and providing information on projects through a variety of media. Rather than simply distributing information, the goal of community outreach is to encourage participation in the process and to provide opportunities for the public to fully understand, ask questions about, and provide feedback on the complex technical issues involved in decision-making for each FUSRAP site. The frequency and method of interaction depends on the project, and the USACE Buffalo District has worked to promote openness and transparency and to ensure the community is provided with many opportunities for public participation. Project information has been provided to stakeholders using multiple techniques, such as formal project workshops, poster sessions, site tours, news releases, storybooks, and videos. Aside from project-specific community relations plans, the USACE Buffalo District has participated in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs established to inspire current and future generations of young people to pursue careers in STEM fields. Each year, the USACE Buffalo District performs outreach in the community to share information on our projects as well as to introduce students to various disciplines associated with environmental careers. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2016

Examining Supply Chain Resilience for the Inter-modal Shipment of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High Level Radioactive Materials - 16309

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has a significant programmatic interest in the safe and secure routing and transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) and High Level Waste (HLW) in the United States, including shipments entering the country from locations outside U.S borders. In any shipment of SNF/HLW, there are multiple 'chains'; a jurisdictional chain as the material moves between jurisdictions (state, federal, tribal, administrative), a physical supply chain (which mode), as well as a custody chain (which stakeholder is in charge/possession) of the materials being transported. Given these interconnected networks, there lies vulnerabilities, whether in lack of communication between interested stakeholders or physical vulnerabilities such as interdiction. By identifying key links and nodes as well as administrative weaknesses, decisions can be made to 'harden' the physical network and improve communication between stakeholders. This paper examines the parallel chains of oversight and custody as well as the chain of stakeholder interests for the shipments of SNF/HLW and the potential impacts on systemic resiliency. Using the Crystal River shutdown location as well as a hypothetical international shipment brought into the United States, this paper illustrates the parallel chains and maps them out visually. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2016

A Paradigm Shift continued: An Application of Structured Decision Making for Sustainable Waste Management - 16486

Structured decision making presents an opportunity for DOE and others engaged in solving complex environmental and waste management problems to find solutions that are stakeholder engaged and cost effective. This approach represents a paradigm shift that was introduced in a series of papers and a panel session at the WM2015 Symposium. The advantages of structured decision making over less formal approaches to decision making include technical defensibility, traceability and transparency. Structured decision making also overcomes the limitations of misapplication of conservatism in modeling, addresses stakeholder concerns and competing objectives directly, and provides a formal method through which internal and external stakeholders are encouraged to collectively and carefully consider all relevant attributes of solving complex problems. The first requirement of this paradigm shift is a realization and recognition that the problems faced are inherently decision problems, and that there is a formal theory of decision analysis that can, and should, be used to support finding the best solutions. Structured decision making is, very simply, formalized common sense. The formalities include: framing the problem; identification of objectives and measures for valuing those objectives; costs or values associated with those objectives; management options or alternatives for taking action that are tied directly to the objectives; and, science-based models to evaluate the options. Decision analysis is used to evaluate objectives and choose management options by balancing probability and consequence. The science-based models are built probabilistically based on expectation and uncertainty, and costs and value judgments are used to fulfill addressing stakeholder concerns. Consequently, this approach avoids misplaced conservatism in science-based modeling and properly places values in the objectives component of a decision model. This approach honestly addresses uncertainty and value judgments and balances these competing components to find the most effective decision. A software framework program called Guided Interactive Statistical Decision Tools (GiSdT - pronounced 'gist') is used to support an application of this paradigm shift towards structured decision making. In this application objectives and management options for a waste disposal problem at the Los Alamos National Laboratory are identified, and features, events and processes are described and defined to form the basis of a conceptual site model. This establishes the decision model structure. Objectives are addressed through the three pillars of sustainability - economic, environmental, and social - and also address regulatory concerns or constraints. Management options include removal of waste to another location and engineering designs for leaving waste in place. Using structured decision making, the relationship between objectives, management options, and the conceptual site model is made clear, and leads to a comprehensive, defensible, transparent and traceable approach to effective decision making. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2020

Radiological Recovery Logistics Tool - 20161

Argonne is building and testing a tool, the Radiological Recovery Logistics Tool (RRLT), that can be used during the response and recovery from a radiological or nuclear incident to effectively allocate appropriate commercial and public works equipment to mitigate, remove, and contain radiological contamination. The requirements for this tool - as well as development of the resulting software - is overseen by a steering committee of stakeholders from DHS's National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). One essential requirement is for RRLT to support the efficient and appropriate allocation of resources for a radiological response. Subsequent discussions between ANL and stakeholders have solidified the nature of this support to include identification of the types of resources to be allocated. The study reported in this paper has both factored fundamental concepts and connections out of this identification process and created a Knowledge Base detailing support goals, response scenarios, and efficacy information on dozens of equipment types. In short, RRLT will dynamically apply these findings to situational conditions surrounding contamination incidents. RRLT's Domain, the model of elements, ideas and relationships with which the tool will work, draws concepts from technical reports and stakeholder vocabularies to connect response goals and scenarios to types of equipment that offer utility towards those goals in those scenarios. RRLT's Knowledge Base will contain details on dozens of equipment types and facilitate the operator's discovery and consumption of these details most pertinent to a dynamically selected subset of goals. The core of its Domain Model is based on a report authored by this team. This report [1] contains a comprehensive list of proposed equipment to accomplish various missions or scenarios that might arise after a large-scale radiological contamination incident in an urban environment or critical infrastructure. The report divides potential response and recovery efforts into five support goals: Survey and monitoring of the contaminated area; Mitigation of received dose to first responders: Decontamination (gross and final) of buildings, vehicles, roadways, parks, and other surfaces: Waste management of solid waste generated during recovery operations: and Containment of wastewater and other waste generated during the response and recovery phases. RRLT's development is driven by use cases. A use case is an intention with which a user approaches the software. Use cases are grouped into delivery increments to schedule development, testing, and presentation to stakeholders. This model partitions the system into seven increments: User Arrival and Authentication, Search and Navigation, Equipment Recommendation, Plan Management, Content Management, and Expanded Access. Once a user 15 authenticated, RRLT will present the user with a dashboard that allows them to explore or search RRLT's content. The dashboard will also include a 'Plan' panel for collecting decisions and relevant observations about an incident at hand to facilitate development of an equipment list. RRLT will offer three general modes of access to items in the knowledge base: - Keyword search for direct discovery of items, - Navigation along predetermined paths from recovery goal towards equipment types, and - Interactive guidance towards equipment types by an autonomous software agent: the Equipment Recommendation Wizard. This presentation will detail progress in the development of the RRLT and also discuss opportunities for those interested in providing feedback on its content and functionality. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗