RECOMMENDATION 93-1 TO THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
                   pursuant to 42 U.S.C.  2286a(5)
                Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.



Dated:  January 21, 1993



Several of the Board's recommendations have emphasized the
importance of an effective program of standards utilization in
defense nuclear facilities.  By so doing, the Board has shown that
it considers the detailed review of ongoing operations for
compliance with DOE Orders (and applicable consensus standards) as
an essential measure in assuring that defense nuclear facilities
are being operated in a safe manner.

The Board has noted significant progress by DOE in the issuance of
new and revised nuclear safety orders that more explicitly
delineate requirements in such areas as: unreviewed safety question
determinations, technical safety requirements, nuclear safety
analysis reports, design requirements and nuclear criticality
safety.  However, the Board's ongoing review of the use of
standards in defense nuclear facilities has disclosed a number of
potential inconsistencies in the manner in which DOE Orders related
to nuclear safety are applied at facilities that produce and
process fissile materials, relative to those facilities that
assemble, disassemble, and test nuclear weapons.  The Board notes
that DOE orders differentiate between nuclear safety and "nuclear
explosive safety," (the latter is defined by DOE Order 5610.11,
Nuclear Explosive Safety); however, the Board considers that
certain basic safety principles apply to the handling of fissile
materials, regardless of the form that the material is in.

For example, a number of orders related to nuclear safety are
explicitly excluded from applicability to facilities that assemble,
disassemble and test nuclear weapons, while others are applicable
only to "nuclear facilities," (as defined by DOE Order 5480.5,
Safety of Nuclear Facilities).  Those that apply to "nuclear
facilities do not necessarily apply to facilities that assemble,
disassemble and test nuclear weapons.  In other technical areas,
such as quality assurance, essentially different programs have been
put in place (i.e., DOE-AL directives QC-1 and QC-2, as opposed to
DOE Order 5700.6C).

The Board is committed to ensuring the level of safety assurance at
those facilities that assemble, disassemble and test nuclear
weapons is at least as rigorous as that required at other defense
nuclear facilities and that it can be measured to compare with the
level of safety assurance provided to the public and site workers
by commercial nuclear material processing facilities.  The above
being recognized, the Board recommends that:

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1.    DOE review its list of orders and directives related to
      nuclear safety and determine those that apply to facilities
      and operations that assemble, disassemble and test nuclear
      weapons.    

2.    DOE evaluate the level of nuclear safety assurance provided by
      the orders and directives applicable to facilities that
      assemble, disassemble and test nuclear weapons and compare
      it to the level of safety assurance provided by DOE Orders and
      directives applicable to other DOE defense nuclear facilities.

3.    DOE develop a plan for addressing any deficiencies found by
      the above two reviews.

4.    Priority be given by DOE to completing site-wide order
      compliance reviews at facilities that assemble, disassemble
      and test nuclear weapons; with special emphasis placed on the
      Pantex Plant.



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   /s/

                                                                                                                                                                                                   John T. Conway
                                                                                                                                                                                                   Chairman