The Office of Health, Safety and Security verifies the Department's safeguards and security interests are protected, that the Department can effectively respond to emergencies, and that site workers, the public, and the environment are protected from hazardous operations and materials.

In addition, the Office of Health, Safety and Security maintains a staff of engineers and scientists proficient in a variety of facility safety areas to develop and maintain these requirements and their associated guidance and to respond to requests for clarification and guidance from contractors and Energy Program and Field Offices, and to ensure their proper application and implementation.

The Office of Nuclear Safety and Environment establishes requirements, standards, and guidance to ensure that people and property are adequately protected from DOE operations. We develop requirements and standards through a DOE or public consensus process that adopts industry standards that are appropriate.   These requirements and standards are published as DOE regulations, DOE Directives or the DOE Technical Standards.

Many of the facility safety requirements are applicable to both Energy’s nuclear and non-nuclear facilities and activities. Consequently, we work to ensure that our directives permit contractors to apply the requirements in a graded manner, appropriate to the wide variety of hazards and types of work at each facility and activity, rather than a “one size fits all” set of requirements.

We maintain expertise and support requirements and standards in the following areas of facility safety:

• Maintenance
• Fire Protection
• Hoisting and Rigging
• Explosives
• Electrical Safety
• Construction Safety
• Firearms Safety
• Natural Phenomena Hazards (earthquakes, floods, wind/tornado, lightning, excessive snow or rain)
•  Facility Design
• Criticality Safety
• Conduct of Operations
• Personnel Training
• Integrated Safety Management

The facility safety requirements are generally applicable to all Energy facilities, including the Forrestal and Germantown buildings, so that workers are appropriately protected.