Attachment 1, Contractor Requirements Document (CRD), provides requirements that
can be applied to contractors and subcontractors responsible for managing and operating
Departmental facilities, as adapted to meet site-specific needs. Contractor compliance
with the CRD will be required consistent with the conditions set forth in the controlling
contract.
a. The Board is an independent executive branch establishment responsible for
providing advice and recommendations to the President and the Secretary of
Energy (Secretary) regarding public health and safety issues at Departmental
defense nuclear facilities.
(1) The Board was established by Congress in 1988 (see subparagraph 2a) to
perform the functions summarized below:
(a) review and evaluate the content and implementation of the
standards relating to the design, construction, operation, and
decommissioning of Departmental defense nuclear facilities
(including applicable Departmental Orders, regulations, and
requirements);
(b) investigate any event or practice at Departmental defense nuclear
facilities that has adversely affected or may adversely affect public
health and safety;
(c) analyze design and operational data, including safety analysis
reports, from any Departmental defense nuclear facility;
(d) review the design and construction of a new Departmental defense
nuclear facility and make recommendations considered necessary
to protect public health and safety; and
(e) make such recommendations to the Secretary with respect to
Departmental defense nuclear facilities, including operations of
such facilities, standards, and research needs, as the Board
determines are necessary to ensure adequate protection of public
health and safety.
(2) Defense nuclear facilities include production and utilization facilities,
facilities involved in assembly, disassembly, and testing of weapons, and
certain nuclear waste storage facilities.
(3) Board oversight authority extends throughout the life cycle of
jurisdictional facilities, from design, construction, and operation through
decommissioning. For the purposes of oversight, the Board defines
decommissioning to encompass activities leading up to environmental
restoration, including deactivation, decontamination, final process runs,
removal of special nuclear material, residues, and wastes, and other
activities necessary to ensure adequate protection of public health and
safety (see subparagraph 2d).
b. The Board communicates with the Department through a variety of mechanisms
including formal recommendations, formal reporting requirements, letters
requesting action and information, letters providing suggestions, letters providing
information such as staff issue reports and trip reports, Board and Board staff
requests for information, public meetings, briefings and discussions, and site
visits. The Board's choice of communication vehicle tends to indicate the level of
the Board's concern, with the more formal vehicles used for clearly defined safety
issues that require prompt attention by Departmental managers.
c. The Department and the Board share the common goal of ensuring adequate
protection of public and worker health and safety and the environment at
Departmental defense nuclear facilities. To accomplish this goal, the
Department's interface policy is to:
(1) fully cooperate with the Board;
(2) provide access to information necessary for the Board to accomplish its responsibilities;
(3) thoroughly consider the recommendations and other safety information provided by the Board;
(4) consistently meet commitments to the Board; and
(5) conduct interactions with the Board in accordance with the highest professional standards.