[SOE LETTERHEAD]
December 16, 2002
The Honorable John
T. Conway
Chairman
Defense Nuclear
Facilities Safety Board
625 Indiana
Avenue, NW, Suite 700
Washington, D.C.
20004-2901
Dear Chairman
Conway:
Thank you for your
November 4, 2002, letter regarding the proposed Department of Energy handbook Integration
of Multiple Hazard Analysis. The
Office of Environment, Safety and Health will continue to promote the concept
of linking our varied and multiple hazards analyses that our contractors
perform under the Integrated Safety Management model. We are committed to improving our Integrated Safety Management
processes, where practicable.
The Office of
Environment, Safety and Health has been working in collaboration with the
Energy Facility Contractors Group/Chemical Safety Topical Committee, and your
staff to develop the draft handbook.
This group has undertaken the difficult task of bringing together, in an
integrated and transparent manner, the multiple and varied forms of hazards
analyses that our contractors perform.
We will endeavor to seek continuous improvement in this regard.
The Office of
Environment, Safety and Health staff will continue to communicate with your
staff on this topic as we progress in implementing the concepts contained in
the draft handbook. The Office of
Environment, Safety and Health is in the process of finalizing an agreement for
starting two lessons-learned projects that would test the handbook’s concepts and feedback
lessons learned for improving the handbook.
If you or your staff
have any further questions or input, please contact Ms. Beverly A. Cook,
Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health, at (202) 586-6151.
Sincerely,