DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD

May 2, 1997

Dan Ogg was on travel Monday through Wednesday attending an American Nuclear Society conference on decommissioning and spent fuel disposal.

A. Temporary Reassignment of DOE-RL Site Manager: DOE announced on May 1 that John Wagoner will temporarily be assigned to Brookhaven National Laboratory. DOE-RL Deputy Manager Lloyd Piper will act in Mr. Wagoner's absence.

B. Construction and Configuration Management: In response to the Board's April 14, 1997, letter to Assistant Secretary Alm, DOE-RL has assigned Mr. Pete Knollmeyer, Acting Assistant Manager for Facilities Transition, as the lead for construction and configuration management issues. We consider this a good choice by DOE-RL and have already spoken with Mr. Knollmeyer and his staff on key matters in this regard.

A DNFSB staff review is scheduled for the week of May 19 to commence a more thorough examination of the issues discussed in the April 14 letter. This review is prompting DOE-RL to press FDH for closure on the following matters:

1. On November 7, 1996, DOE-RL formally requested FDH to take corrective action regarding deficiencies in the work completion process (e.g., labeling, as-built drawings). FDH acknowledged DOE-RL's issues in a letter dated December 6, 1996, but has yet to deliver a comprehensive response (six months later).
2. On January 27, 1997, DOE-RL formally requested FDH to evaluate the potential conflict of interest with the performance of the government's construction inspection by Fluor Daniel Northwest (FDNW). FDH's February 14 response was not considered adequate (e.g., it attempted to take credit for DNFSB and State site representative oversight) and FDH orally agreed to reevaluate the response. DOE- RL has yet to receive a revised FDH response (3 months later).

We will follow up with DOE-RL and FDH to understand why these delays are occurring.

C. Fluor Daniel Hanford (FDH) Integrated Safety Management System Plan: The FDH contract included requirements for delivering to DOE-RL an ES&H Management Plan by December 31, 1996. This plan was to provide the foundation for implementation of DNFSB Recommendation 95-2. In January 1997, DOE-RL rejected FDH's plan (and withheld fee) citing a lack of specifics and rigor. In response, DOE-RL and FDH formed a team to develop what is now called the FDH Integrated Safety Management System (or ISMS) plan. DOE-RL anticipates a final draft will be provided for DNFSB, regulator and stakeholder comment in June 1997. FDH hopes to submit the ISMS plan for DOE-RL approval in July and for DOE-HQ approval in September 1997. We will review this plan as soon as it becomes available and provide the Board our assessment.

D. Public Meeting: On May 2, Mr. Gubanc briefed the Hanford Advisory Board (HAB) on the mission, composition and activities of the DNFSB. The HAB expressed significant interest in the DNFSB's activities and was generally supportive of our work.

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Board Members