[DNFSB LETTERHEAD]
November 15, 2002
The Honorable Everet H. Beckner
Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs
National Nuclear Security Administration
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20585-0104
Dear Dr. Beckner:
While meeting with the Defense Nuclear
Facilities Safety Board (Board) on October 28, 2002, you discussed the
potential need to restart disassembly and inspection operations for the W84
Program in advance of completing the Seamless Safety for the 21st
Century (SS-21) process. The Board
recognizes that the U. S. Department of
Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) needs to maintain an
aggressive surveillance program to ensure that latent or age-related safety
issues are identified as early as possible, thereby allowing the greatest
opportunity for prevention or mitigation.
However, the Board wishes to emphasize that
gathering W84 surveillance data still requires an adequate safety basis. The applicable safety principles have been
institutionalized by NNSA in its Integrated Safety Management System, and
further focused on nuclear weapon operations through implementation of the
Board’s Recommendation 98-2, Safety Management at the Pantex Plant. In the long term, these safety principles
will be implemented in the W84 Program through application of the SS-21
process. For the interim surveillance
project, once NNSA has clearly defined the scope of work, the operating
contractor must identify the hazards associated with that scope of work and develop
appropriate controls, defending the adequacy of this safety basis to the
authorizing official. Thereafter,
properly tailored readiness and nuclear explosive safety reviews-also key
components of the Integrated Safety Management process-can be conducted. Only then can work be performed in a safe
and deliberate manner.
We wish to assure you that the Board remains
committed to assisting in any way possible to safely meeting the operational
schedules at the Pantex Plant.
Sincerely,
John T. Conway
Chairman
c:
Mr. David E. Beck
Mr. Daniel E. Glenn
Mr. Mark B. Whitaker, Jr.