Departmental Representative to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board

2015

2015 BY MONTH:  JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
This list last updated

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• December 22, 2015, Department letter transmitting the Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2015, to also include deliverables 1-10, 3-3, and 3-4 of the Implementation Plan for Recommendation 2012-1, Savannah River Site Building 235-F Safety.
• December 22, 2015, Board letter transmitting the report entitled, Emergency Preparedness and Response at the Savannah River Site, for DOE/NNSA use in implementing actions in response to Recommendation 2014-1.
• December 16, 2015, Department letter responding to the Board letter of August 3, 2015, regarding the analyses, controls, and path forward related to postulated flammability hazards at the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) at SRS.
• December 16, 2015, Board letter transmitting the report on H-Canyon Seismic Performance and Condition for DOE’s information and use as DOE addresses concerns with the structural integrity of the H-Canyon Exhaust Tunnel at the Savannah River Site.
• December 15, 2015, Department letter responding to the Board letter of August 31, 2015, providing the technical basis for the planned risk analysis approach to update the Idaho National Laboratory's Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis.

• November 24, 2015, Board letter forwarding Recommendation 2015-1, Emergency Preparedness and Response at the Pantex Plant.
• November 23, 2015, Board letter transmitting the report on the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project Safety Basis for DOE's information and use.
• November 18, 2015, Department letter responding to the Board letter dated August 21, 2015, documenting DOE's position on controlling river access, protecting public receptors from accidents during slurry transfers, and the technical basis for this position, for the Sludge Treatment Project at Hanford.
• November 12, 2015, Board letter documenting deficiencies in several elements of the maintenance program at the Pantex Plant for NNSA’s information and use to improve Pantex safety management programs.
• November 10, 2015, Board letter establishing a 60-day reporting requirement for a report documenting the scope and schedule for Building 235-F decontamination activities in fiscal years 2016 and 2017, to support the Implementation Plan for Recommendation 2012-1, Savannah River Site Building 235-F Safety.

• October 29, 2015, Board letter establishing a 60-day reporting requirement for NNSA to provide a schedule to conduct specific analyses of the structures, systems, and components needed to confine and control hazardous material for the Electrorefining Project at Y-12.
• October 27, 2015, Department letter responding to the Board letter of December 5, 2014, and transmitting its evaluation of the streamlined approach to upgrade the Double-Shell Tank primary ventilation system at the Hanford site.
• October 26, 2015, Board letter communicating its evaluation on DOE’s progress for Recommendation 2012-2, Hanford Tank Farms Flammable Gas Safety Strategy, and requesting an update of the DOE Implementation Plan (IP) to reflect current delivery dates of IP deliverables.
• October 20, 2015, Department letter transmitting the first deliverable related to Section 6.1.3 of the Implementation Plan for Recommendation 2014-1, Emergency Preparedness and Response.
• October 20, 2015, Board letter communicating areas for improving the safety basis at the Savannah River Site L-Area storage basin.

• September 30, 2015, Board letter communicating its annual assessment on DOE’s activities and progress for Recommendation 2009-2, Los Alamos National Laboratory Plutonium Facility Seismic Safety.
• September 21, 2015, Board letter transmitting the Technical Report entitled, Opportunities for Risk Reduction at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Plutonium Facility through the Minimization of Material-At-Risk (DNFSB/TECH-39), for NNSA's consideration.
• September 11, 2015, Department letter responding to the Board letter of June 25, 2015, and providing a report on the design methodology and technical basis associated with the design of the UPF confinement ventilation system in a post-seismic condition.

• August 31, 2015, Board letter establishing a 90-day reporting requirement for a report on the technical basis for the planned risk analysis approach to update the Idaho National Laboratory's Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis.
• August 21, 2015, Department letter documenting the completion of the project to address the technical and software quality assurance concerns with the computer program, System for Analysis of Soil-Structure Interaction (SASSI).
• August 21, 2015, Board letter establishing a 45-day reporting requirement for a report describing DOE's position on controlling River access and protecting public receptors from accidents during slurry transfers, and the technical basis for this position, for the Sludge Treatment Project at Hanford.
• August 21, 2015, Board letter transmitting its report, Review of the Sludge Treatment Project Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis Hydrogen Hazards, for DOE’s consideration and use in ensuring that the final design adequately meets DOE safety requirements.
• August 19, 2015, Department letter transmitting deliverable related to Section 6.2.3 of the Implementation Plan for Recommendation 2014-1, Emergency Preparedness and Response.
• August 18, 2015, Department letter informing the Board of the next steps to improve the seismic performance of the Plutonium Facility (PF-4) at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
• August 13, 2015, Board letter inviting Dr. Monica Regalbuto, Mr. Glenn Podonsky, Mr. Kevin Smith, and Mr. William Hamel to appear at the Board’s Public Hearing on Improve Safety Culture at the Waste Treatment & Immobilization Plant, schedule on August 26, 2015.
• August 10, 2015, Board letter establishing a 10-day reporting requirement for a briefing on DOE's rationale for use of Radcalc Version 4.1.1 at defense nuclear facilities and what compensatory measures are in place to offset deviating from the essential oversight requirements of DOE Order 414.1D, Quality Assurance, and DOE Order 226.1B, Implementation of Department of Energy Oversight Policy.
• August 3, 2015, Board letter establishing a 90-day reporting requirement for a report that addresses the safety basis issues at the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) at SRS, specifically: DOE's analysis of interactions between non-safety and safety components in the melter off-gas system; the adequacy of compensatory measures for the retained hydrogen PISA; and the path forward for resolving the melter feed rate, retained hydrogen and antifoam flammability PISAs.

• July 29, 2015, Department letter providing an update on the progress of activities to meet deliverables 1-3 and 1-4 of the Implementation Plan for Recommendation 2012-1, Savannah River Site Building 235-F Safety.
• July 24, 2015, Department letter documenting DOE’s plan to develop a nuclear safety control strategy for the confinement ventilation system under the effects of a seismic design basis accident at the High-Level Waste Facility, in response to the Board letter of February 2, 2015.
• July 21, 2015, Department letter transmitting the Office of Environmental Management's deliverable for Action 2-13 (site-specific safety culture sustainment tools) of the Implementation Plan for Recommendation 2011-1, Safety Culture at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant.
• July 6, 2015, FY2014 Annual Report to Congress on DOE's activities relating to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.

• June 25, 2015, Board letter establishing a 90-day reporting requirement for a report on the design methodology and technical basis associated with the design of the UPF confinement ventilation system in a post-seismic condition.
• June 22, 2015, Board Project Letter documenting the results of the Board's staff review of the Documented Safety Analysis for Critical Decision 4 for the SRS K-Area Complex Purification Area Vault Project.
• June 12, 2015, Department letter transmitting the FY2014 Annual Report on Nuclear Criticality Safety.
• June 12, 2015, Department letter responding to the Board letter dated April 21, 2015, regarding a joint effort to review the processes by which the DNFSB interacts with DOE to identify potential safety issues in the design and construction of new DOE Defense Nuclear Facilities.
• June 12, 2015, Board letter recognizing Mr. Mark Hahn, DOE-RL, on being honored as the recipient of the 2014 DOE Annual Safety System Oversight Award.
• June 12, 2015, Board letter recognizing Mr. Joshua Allen, DOE-RL, on being honored as the 2014 DOE Facility Representative of the Year.
• June 9, 2015, Department letter documenting DOE's federal oversight activities and risk assessments related to the computer program “Radcalc”, in response to the Board letter dated March 16, 2015.
• June 5, 2015, Department letter documenting DOE’s path forward for developing a nuclear safety control strategy for hydrogen explosion hazards in the High-Level Waste Facility at the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, in response to the Board letter of January 21, 2015.

• May 14, 2015, Board letter transmitting the results of the Board staff’s review of Safety Design Strategy and Conceptual Safety Design Report for the Low Activity Waste Pretreatment System (LAWPS) Project at the Hanford Site
• May 13, 2015, Board Project Letter for Critical Decision 4 (approve start of operations or project completion) for the Waste Solidification Building at the Savannah River Site
• May 8, 2015, Board Project Letter describing the open safety issues for the High-Level Waste Facility at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant

• April 24, 2015, Department letter transmitting the Implementation Plan for Recommendation 2014-1, Emergency Preparedness and Response.
• April 21, 2015, Board letter proposing a joint effort to review the processes by which the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board interacts with DOE to identify potential safety issues in the design and construction of new DOE Defense Nuclear Facilities.
• April 7, 2015, Board letter inviting Secretary Moniz or his designee to participate in the DNFSB public meeting and hearing at the Waste Isolation Project Plant in Carlsbad, NM on April 29, 2015.
• April 7, 2015, Board letter communicating its annual assessment on DOE’s progress for Recommendation 2011-1, Safety Culture at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant.
• April 1, 2015, Board letter communicating its annual assessment on DOE’s progress for Recommendation 2010-1, Safety Analysis Requirements for Defining Adequate Protection for the Public and the Workers.

• March 25, 2015, Department letter documenting NNSA’s path forward for resolution of safety basis issues at the Radioassay and Nondestructive Testing (RANT) Shipping Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory, in response to the Board letter of December 9, 2014.
• March 25, 2015, Board letter detailing technical concerns documented in the Board Staff Issue Report, "Aerosol Entrainment Coefficient Based on Testing and Data Analyses for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant".
• March 16, 2015, Board letter establishing a 90-day reporting requirement for a report documenting DOE’s federal oversight activities and risk assessments associated with the computer program "Radcalc".
• March 11, 2015, DNFSB Twenty-Fifth Annual Report to Congress for Calendar Year 2014.
• March 9, 2015, Department letter documenting DOE's intent and plan to address melter accident scenarios to support development of safety basis for the High-Level Waste facility at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, in response to the Board letter of December 5, 2014.
• March 9, 2015, Board letter in response to the DOE letter of November 28, 2014, regarding the revised schedule and deliverable dates for commitments in the Implementation Plan for Recommendation 2012-1, Savannah River Site Building 235-F Safety.
• March 6, 2015, Board letter transmitting the report, "Review of the System Back Out Plan and Ventilation System for the Plutonium Finishing Plant Project" for DOE’s information and use as the Department pursues hazardous cleanup missions at Hanford.

• February 26, 2015, Department letter informing the Board that DOE is taking the 45-day extension to complete the Implementation Plan for Recommendation 2014-1, Emergency Preparedness and Response.
• February 13, 2015, Department letter providing an updated plan and schedule for completing the alternate seismic analysis of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Plutonium Facility in response to the Board letter of December 17, 2014.
• February 11, 2015, Department letter responding to the Board letter of October 23, 2014, outlining DOE's intent and plan to incorporate the updated Hanford volcanic ashfall hazard assessment into the WTP design and nuclear facility safety basis.
• February 6, 2015, Department letter transmitting deliverable for Action 5-1 of the Implementation Plan for Recommendation 2012-2, Hanford Tank Farms Flammable Gas Safety Strategy.
• February 4, 2015, Board letter transmitting the report "Structural Evaluations of the 9215 Complex and Building 9204-2E at the Y-12 National Security Complex" for NNSA information and use as it considers long-term mission work at Y-12.
• February 2, 2015, Board letter establishing a 90-day reporting requirement for a report documenting DOE’s plan to develop a nuclear safety control strategy for the confinement ventilation system under the effects of a seismic design basis accident at the High-Level Waste Facility.
• February 2, 2015, Department letter notifying the Board of the completion of Action 2c-3 (Fire Detection and Alarm System installation and acceptance test completion) of the Implementation Plan for Recommendation 2012-1, Savannah River Site Building 235-F Safety.

• January 21, 2015, Board letter establishing a 90-day reporting requirement for a report documenting DOE’s path forward for developing a nuclear safety control strategy for hydrogen explosion hazards in the High-Level Waste Facility at the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant.
• January 15, 2015, Department letter transmitting deliverable 6.4.1 of the Implementation Plan for Recommendation 2010-1, Safety Analysis Requirements for Defining Adequate Protection for the Public and the Workers.