Gray's Matters: FRIB goes public
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Last week I had the privilege of making introductory remarks at the public scoping meeting hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and MSU to get input from the public on the major construction project that will create the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). This meeting was conducted as part of the Environmental Assessment required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
I talked about past efforts the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), the home of FRIB, has undertaken to meet and exceed environmental standards. Last year the lab achieved ISO 9001 registration, which certifies that its approach to delivering rare isotope beams to experimenters is compliant with rigorous international standards for quality.
NSCL earned similar registrations for its environmental management system (ISO 14001, August 2006) and occupational health and safety system (OHSAS 18001, July 2007). NSCL is the only university-based facility in the world to be registered as compliant with all three standards. Both the ISO and OHSAS standards reflect international consensus on best practices for a range of business activities.
Credit for these accomplishments goes especially to Konrad Gelbke and Thomas Glasmacher at NSCL and Peter Grivins, Mary Lindsey-Frary, and Tom Grover from Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), under the direction of Kevin Eisenbeis. Grivins and Lindsey-Frary are certified 14001 auditors. EHS is part of the research compliance system my office maintains for MSU.
The same people are paying close attention to environmental issues surrounding construction of FRIB. DOE compliance personnel are monitoring plans closely, too. The public comments at the meeting last week indicated that people recognize some disruption will accompany construction of the level required for FRIB. But they believe MSU will manage the construction responsibly and the results in scientific advancement and economic impact make some inconvenience acceptable. I was especially impressed with the comments of the undergraduate and graduate students who spoke. Students were very supportive of the project and have been from the beginning. Their "Bring FRIB to our Crib" campaign was an important part of the effort to win the facility for MSU.
Additional public comments will be accepted through December 11. The FRIB Public Involvement Web site provides an easy mechanism for commenting on the project. DOE will spend several months on the assessment, which will then be available to the public. Construction is to begin in 2013.
MSU is already one of the top three institutions for nuclear physics research. The $550 million FRIB project will give researchers at MSU and around the world new ways to explore the origin of elements, the structure of atomic nuclei, and the evolution of the cosmos. It will help them find new ways to use isotopes for diagnosing and treating disease.
J. Ian Gray
Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies
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