[DOE LETTERHEAD]
March 9, 2007
The Honorable A. J. Eggenberger
Chairman
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
625 Indiana Avenue, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20004-2901
Dear Mr. Chairman:
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Implementation Plan (IP) for Recommendation 2005-1, Nuclear Material Packing, commits the Department to developing requirements for nuclear material packaging for the safe storage of nuclear materials outside of engineered contamination barriers. The Office of Health, Safety and Security (HSS), with the support of a complex-wide working group, has developed these packaging requirements and included them in a draft Nuclear Material Packaging Manual. This draft Manual has been submitted to the Department’s Office of Management for distribution through the Directives System for complex-wide review and comment. The draft Manual will be available for a 60-day comment period.
In
addition, as committed to in the IP, on
March 9, 2007, HSS issued a
request for the Office of Environmental Management, the Office of Nuclear
Energy, the Office of Science and the National Nuclear Security Administration
to provide, within 120 days, a schedule and funding plan for implementing the
Manual requirements at their sites with defense nuclear facilities (enclosed). Included with the request were the draft
Manual and a risk ranking methodology for the sites’ use in evaluating their
repackaging needs and priorities. These two documents resolve the open items
identified in our July 27, 2006, letter to you on this subject. HSS will establish a complex-wide schedule
based upon the site-specific schedules received and provide that schedule to
the Board as committed to in the IP.
Please contact me at (301) 903-3777 or Dr. James O’Brien, of my staff, at (301) 903-1408 if you have questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Glenn
S. Podonsky
Chief
Health, Safety and Security Officer
Office
of Health, Safety and
Security