[DNFSB LETTER HEAD]
July 15, 2008
The Honorable James A. Rispoli
Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20585-0123
Dear Mr. Rispoli:
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (Board) has completed the first of a series of detailed reviews of corrective actions for the spill of waste from single-shell Tank S-102 at the Hanford Site. This review focused on the corrective actions related to emergency management. The Board's staff-found that the contractor for the tank farms and the site-wide emergency response organization have improved their preparedness for responding to emergencies or abnormal situations at the talk farms since the spill, but that emergency preparedness still needs to be strengthened
The Board’s staff identified a number of issues that need to be addressed related to the corrective action plan for the Tank 5-102 spill and an emergency preparedness drill observed at the tank farms. The two main issues are: (1) the corrective action plan does not include an update of the emergency planning hazards assessment, and (2) there is a need for additional planning to improve emergency preparedness. The Board plans to monitor these two issues, as well as the implementation and verification of the full suite of corrective actions for emergency management resulting from the spill.
The enclosed report details the issues identified above and observations of the Board's staff resulting from this review for your information and use as appropriate. Please contact me if you have any questions on this matter.
Sincerely,
A.J. Eggenberger
Chairman
c:
Ms. Shirley J. Olinger
Mr. Mark B. Whitaker, Jr.
Mr. Robert J. McMorland