[DOE
LETTERHEAD]
May 12, 2004
The Honorable John T. Conway
Chairman
Defense Nuclear Facilities
Safety Board
625 Indiana Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20004-2941
Dear Mr. Chairman:
In the Secretary’s August 25,
2003 report to you on suspect/counterfeit items (S/CI), the Department
committed that, “Directives will be revised to reflect the process, and roles
and responsibilities of the Office of Environment, Safety and Health (EH) and
other organizations. It is anticipated
that DOE O 414.1, DOE G 414.1, DOE O 440.1A, and DOE G 440.1-6 will be revised
to consolidate the SC/I process and requirements. The EH internal process guide and checklists
will be finalized and approved based on the approved directives.” The purpose of this letter is to provide you
with the status of the Department’s progress in this area.
DOE O 414.IB, Quality Assurance was issued April 29, 2004. It supersedes the S/CI portions of DOE O
440.1A, Worker
Protection Management of DOE Federal and
Contractor Employees, dated March 27, 1998 and
cancelled Attachment 1,
Paragraph 8, Suspect
and Counterfeit Item (S/CI) Controls and Attachment 2, Paragraph 22, Suspect and
Counterfeit Item (S/CI) Controls. DOE O
414.1B also establishes the Office of Quality Assurance Programs, safety
software responsibilities, and Corrective Action Management Program.
In the Secretary’s letter dated
April 21, 2003, the Department anticipated revising DOE G 414.1, Quality Assurance
Management System Guide for use with 10 CFR 830.120 and
DOE O 414.1. Instead, a new Guide, DOE G 414.1-3, Suspect and Counterfeit
Item Guide for use with 10 CFR 830 Subpart A, Quality Assurance Requirements
and DOE O
414.IB,
Quality Assurance was
developed. The Guide was drafted to
incorporate the new EH S/CI Process and to update other S/CI information. When issued, it will supersede DOE G 440.1-6,
Suspect
Counterfeit Items Guide for use with DOE O 440. 1, Worker Protection
Management; 10 CFR 830.120; and DOE O
5700.6C, Quality Assurance, dated
June 1997. The new Guide is issued for
review, comment and use in the Directives System. Comments are due by June 30, 2004. In addition, a working draft of the EH S/CI
Process Guide was developed and is being used to implement the S/CI process as
outlined in the Secretary’s August 25, 2003 report. Once DOE G 414.1B is issued, the EH S/CI
Process Guide will be finalized. We
currently anticipate completion of these activities in August 2004. The attached table summarizes the Directives
update status.
The issuance of DOE O 414.1B was
a major accomplishment that included important contributions by your
staff. The guides described will enhance
the ability of the Department to conduct quality work. If you have any questions, please contact
Richard H. Lagdon at (301) 903-4218, or me at (301) 903-8008.
Sincerely,
Frank B. Russo
Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Corporate Performance
Assessment
cc: Mark B. Whitaker, DR-1
Richard
H. Lagdon, EH-3 1
Frank
E. Tooper, EH-32