[DOE LETTERHEAD]
National
Nuclear Security Administration
July 16, 2004
The Honorable John T. Conway
Chairman
Defense Nuclear Facilities
Safety Board
625 Indiana Avenue, NW.
Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20004
Dear Mr. Chairman:
This letter notifies the Defense
Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) of the schedule for the review of
quality assurance at the Pantex Plant pursuant to the DNFSB’s June 18, 2004,
letter to the Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
Prior to the DNFSB’s staff visit, the NNSA
Pantex Site Office (PXSO) had been closely monitoring the BWXT Pantex’s
progress toward improving their Special Tooling Program. The PXSO identified quality-related weaknesses
not addressed by the BWXT Pantex Improvement Plan and planned for a
comprehensive review of the Tooling Program.
The BWXT Pantex will complete
planned improvements by September 30, 2004, and the PXSO will conduct the
comprehensive review by November 30, 2004. The review will be led by an independent NNSA
organization familiar with quality assurance requirements and safety-related
aspects of tooling used at the Pantex Plant. The team will assess compliance using quality
assurance related criteria developed from applicable requirements, e.g., Title 10, U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Part 830, Subpart A, “Quality
Assurance Requirements;” the Department of Energy Order 414.1B, “Quality Assurance;”
and the NNSA Weapon Quality Policy. The
review approach will be established through an approved PXSO plan-of-action
with appropriate criteria and review approach documents. Tooling program elements to be assessed are
design; procurement; fabrication/modification; repair; maintenance;
calibration; acceptance, delivery, and return (e.g., warehousing). An assessment report will be available in
December 2004 and a brief to the DNFSB scheduled thereafter.
If you have questions, please
contact me or have your staff contact Ms. Wendy Baca at 505-845-6340.
Sincerely,
Everet H. Beckner
Deputy Administrator
for Defense Programs
cc :
M. Whitaker, DR-1
L. Brooks, NA-1
T. Przybylek, NA-2