[DNFSB LETTERHEAD]
March 20, 2003
The Honorable Jessie Hill Roberson
Assistant Secretary for Environmental
Management
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20585-0113
Dear Ms. Roberson:
Sub-recommendation (2) of the Defense
Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s (Board) Recommendation 94-1, Improved
Schedule for Remediation in the Defense Nuclear Facilities Complex,
stressed the importance of establishing a research program to close gaps in the
technical bases for safe interim storage and long-term disposition of fissile
materials. Revision 2 of the Department
of Energy’s (DOE) Implementation Plan for Recommendations 94-1 and 2000-1, Prioritization
for Stabilizing Nuclear Materials, dated July 2002, notes the contributions
made by the 94-l Research and Development (R&D) Program in providing
technical support for site operations to safely stabilize, package, and store
plutonium. Specifically, the 94-l
R&D Program developed the technical basis for DOE-STD-3013, Stabilization,
Packaging, and Storage of Plutonium-Bearing Materials, the latest version
of which relies on several R&D programs, including the Materials
Identification and Surveillance (MIS) Program, to ensure the long-term safety
of stored packages containing plutonium-bearing materials.
Recent discussions at the quarterly meetings
of the MIS Working Group in October 2002 and February 2003 suggest that
proposed changes to the mission and a reduction in funding for the 94-l R&D
Program from the Office of Integration and Disposition in fiscal years 2004 and
beyond may jeopardize activities being pursued in accordance with Appendix G of
DOE’s Implementation Plan for Recommendations 94-1 and 2000-1. For example, requirements in DOE-STD-3013
for surveillance data (Section 6.4), stored materials database (Section 6.5),
and represented samples for quality assurance (Section 6.6) are being met as
part of the ongoing 94-l R&D Program.
Significant reductions in the scope of these planned activities may
render the sites unable to meet DOE-STD-3013 criteria by not adequately
verifying safe storage parameters for allowable moisture, temperature, and
impurity content.
In a letter dated December 6, 1999, the
Board accepted revisions to DOE-STD-3013 that allowed a broader scope of plutonium-bearing
materials to be packaged under the standard.
As stated in that letter, the Board considered the revisions acceptable
because the standard required that materials packaged for long-term storage be
represented in the MIS Program. The
Board believes continued support for the work performed under the MIS Program
is essential to ensuring that materials packaged under this standard are
verified to remain safe during long-term storage.
Under the Atomic Energy Act, 42 U.S.C.§ 2286d(f)(2), DOE is required to report to
the President and Congress those instances where
implementation of a Board recommendation, or a part thereof, is impracticable
due to budget considerations. DOE’s
inability to support the R&D Program because of “budget considerations” would
in effect constitute the determination of impracticability contemplated under
42 U.S.C.§ 2286d(f)(2). The Congressionally-imposed reporting
requirement cannot be reasonably deflected by DOE simply by not formally making
the determination of impracticability due to budget considerations.
The Board is concerned that substantial
reductions to the funding level of the 94-l R&D Program from the Office of
Integration and Disposition without corresponding funding increases to the
sites to carry out this program will result in some of these activities not
being accomplished. Therefore, pursuant
to 42 U.S.C.§ 2286b(d), the
Board requests that DOE provide a report within 60 days of receipt of this
letter that addresses any changes to the mission and funding level of the 94-l
R&D Program as described in Appendix G of DOE’s Implementation Plan for
Recommendations 94-1 and 2000-1.
Sincerely,
John T. Conway
Chairman
c:
The Honorable Everet H. Beckner
Mr. Jack B. Tillman
Mr. Eugene C. Schmitt
Mr. Jeffrey M. Allison
Mr. Keith A. Klein
Mr. Mark B. Whitaker, Jr.