Experiment Approval

The director grants approval to the experiment based on the information in provided by the Jefferson Lab program advisory committee (PAC) and advice from the Physics Advisory Committee. The Associate Director for Physics is responsible for ensuring that Physics Division commitments are achievable and are consistent with the division mission and budget. During this phase, the experiment collaboration and Jefferson Lab divisions and groups refine the technical specifications and cost estimates.

Also during this phase, a determination is made by the Physics Division EH&S officer whether the hazards associated with the proposed experiment will be suitably addressed by an existing experiment Safety Assessment Document (SAD) from a previous experiment. A SAD includes a safety analysis that describes all the unusual hazards associated with an experiment and the means used to control the hazards. ``Unusual hazards" are those not routinely recognized by the public. The result of this analysis is a list of conditions, known as the Safety Envelope, which must be satisfied in order to commission and operate an experiment. The Safety Envelope must be approved by Jefferson Lab before the experiment may operate. There are two possible outcomes from this comparison:

1.

The hazards associated with the planned experiment are not different in character or magnitude from those described in an existing SAD. Physics division will document this determination and, with the concurrence from the Division's EH&S Officer, may authorize all succeeding phases of the experiment.

2.

The hazards are significantly different in character or magnitude from those described by an existing SAD. In this situation, a new SAD must be developed, or an existing SAD expanded, to describe the controls for the new hazards. The SAD must be approved by the Physics Division EH&S officer. Commissioning and operation of the experiment cannot proceed without approval from Jefferson Lab .