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COMSECY-06-0001

January 3, 2006

This is the second annual response to the Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) for COMSECY-03-0058, "Status of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Business Process Improvement Initiatives," dated January 15, 2004. The Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) has expanded its efforts to improve its processes from the Business Process Improvement effort focused on licensing and certification to an Office-wide Continuous Improvement effort.

Calender Year 2005 improvements included:

(1) The use of more realistic dose-modeling scenarios to accelerate license termination reviews. In conjunction with previous improvements, such as the use of more proactive interactions with licensees, this resulted in the completion of the Yankee Rowe Termination Plan review in fifteen months, approximately one year faster than the average of the five year license termination plan review time;

(2) The use of an NMSS web-based Waste Disposal Tracking System (WDTS). WDTS allows the Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection (DWMEP) to fully meet an Office of the Executive Director for Operations requirement that directed DWMEP to track the status of 10 CFR Part 20 waste disposal requests. Web-based WDTS provides a clearer and more accurate source of information and makes information easily available to all key players, including those in the regions;

(3) The use of a decision-making framework for security assessments. This framework was successfully implemented in security assessments for all Waste and Materials programs. The application of the framework provided the staff with insights into whether facilities and materials were sufficiently protected or if additional measures were warranted. This helped NMSS focus its limited resources on these facilities where additional oversight was needed.

The staff recommends that this annual update required by the SRM for COMSECY-03-0058 be eliminated because NMSS has made Continuous Improvement part of its management excellence and because the improvements in NMSS processes will be reflected in budget estimates and program briefs. Thus, a separate report provides duplicate information.

SECY - please track.

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