ORAU awarded $7 million NRC training contract

Federal contractor to deliver both classroom and online training for agency’s health physicists

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has awarded Oak Ridge Associated Universities a five-year, $7.3 million contract to support radiation training activities for the agency. ORAU has assisted the NRC with similar training since 1992.

“We are pleased that NRC has chosen ORAU to continue supporting training for its employees as they carry out their critical mission of ensuring the safety of our nation’s nuclear facilities,” said Andy Page, ORAU president and chief executive officer. “Our team of health physicists have built in-depth knowledge of radiation sciences that extends back to our founding in 1946 as the Oak Ridge Institute for Nuclear Studies. We welcome the opportunity to share our expertise through our long-standing partnership with the NRC.”

Under the new contract, ORAU will conduct traditional lecture and laboratory-based training at its facility in Oak Ridge as well as develop and host online training for professional development in the field of radiation sciences. Additionally, ORAU will continue to develop and maintain NRC’s Technical Training Center in Chattanooga.

In 2014, ORAU designed, procured, and installed a state-of-the-art radiation instructional lab as part of this center. The lab—used by NRC inspectors, radiation specialists, and others from around the country—provides one-stop education and training on technology used by health physicists in teaching the fundamentals of health physics, radiation detection, and radiation protection. NRC instructors at the lab are supplemented by ORAU personnel in providing classroom training and lab-based exercises.