[DOE LETTERHEAD]

December 6, 1999

The Honorable John T. Conway
Chairman
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
625 Indiana Avenue, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20004

Dear Mr. Chairman:

Enclosed is the Department of Energy's report and action plan addressing issues raised in the May 1999 Technical Report 23-HEPA Filters Used in the Department of Energy's Hazardous Facilities.

The Department acknowledges the concerns raised by the Board. This action plan fulfills our commitment to you to develop a plan that will ultimately ensure that adequate infrastructure is in place so that High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters are maintained and their performance assured. The Department believes that the action plan addresses the issues raised in Technical Report 23.

The Lead Program Secretarial Officers will proceed with an initiative, using the principles of Integrated Safety Management, to assess the potential safety vulnerability to workers, the public, and the environment due to degraded filters that are relied onto mitigate accidents. Corrective actions will be tracked and managed through the Department's corrective action tracking system. This initiative will be completed by May 31, 2000. Also by May 31, 2000, the Department will resolve issues concerning maintenance of the HEPA filter infrastructure, including filter test facility consolidation, interim operation of the Oak Ridge test facility, and the benefits of testing 100 percent of the filters prior to installation.

The Department will update technical guidance used by the field to safely operate the filters - the Airborne Release Fractions/Rates Handbook and the Nuclear Air Cleaning Handbook - by December 1, 2000, and November 30, 2001, respectively. By January 15, 2000, the Department will review options for adequate information exchange and dialogue on ventilation filtration technology. The Department will document completion of these initiatives in a letter to the Board.

We appreciate the Board's advice and support in this important matter. If you have any questions, please contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Bill Richardson
Secretary

Enclosure

Note: This enclosure is available in [PDF].