[DNFSB LETTERHEAD]

September 16, 1997

The Honorable Victor H. Reis
Assistant Secretary for Defense Programs
Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20585�04

Dear Dr. Reis:

The Department of Energy (DOE) recently completed its Milestone I Review for the W78 Seamless Safety�1 (SS�) Project at the Pantex Plant. The staff of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (Board) observed the two parts of this review on August 13 and 27, 1997. The Board's staff noted that the DOE瑼lbuquerque (DOE瑼L) Assistant Manager of National Defense Programs, who attended the August 13 review, demonstrated a "demanding customer" attitude, greatly enhancing the effectiveness of the review. The Board believes that continued involvement of senior managers at this level (i.e., assistant operations office managers and equivalent positions at DOE Defense Programs, the DOE Amarillo Area Office, the design laboratories, and the Pantex operating contractor) is crucial to the successful incorporation of an integrated safety process into the disassembly and inspection and assembly processes of nuclear weapons at the Pantex Plant.

While the W78 SS� Milestone I Review was completed successfully, the Board's staff observed that senior DOE managers identified and discussed several ideas and expectations for enhancing the integrated safety process for nuclear weapons disassembly and assembly processes. The DOE瑼L Assistant Manager recognized that there was a great deal of variation in the understanding and knowledge of guidance contained in EP 401110, Integrated Safety Process for Assembly and Disassembly of Nuclear Weapons, among meeting participants, and proposed the development of a program management course to address this problem. Finally, laboratory representatives expressed a strong desire to review and comment on the training lesson plans for the production technicians. It would be valuable for DOE to incorporate these items and other lessons learned from this review into the next revision of EP 401110, which the Board understands is being prepared. A staff trip report containing some observations from these meetings is enclosed for your information and use. The Board looks forward to continued progress in this important area.

Sincerely,

John Conway
Chairman

Enclosure