[DOE
LETTERHEAD]
NATIONAL
NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
November 3, 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:
Enclosed is
the “Quarterly Report for the implementation Plan Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety
Board Recommendation 98-2, Accelerating Safety Management Improvements at the
Pantex Plant,” for the period July 1 through
September 30, 2004,
and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) exemption extension
approvals for the W87 and W88 weapon programs.
During the fourth quarter of
Fiscal Year 2004, NNSA continued to make some progress toward successful
execution of all other aspects of the Seamless Safety for the Twenty-First
Century (SS-21) process. As you are
aware, the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the rest of the NNSA complex
suspended all classified operations in July 2004 to address issues associated with
the handling and control of classified removable electronic media (CREM). The SS-21 activities on all weapons
programs were impacted in various ways and some project deliverables were
missed. For example, pursuant to the
requirements of Title 10, U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Part 820, Subpart E, requests for the
temporary continuation of the exemptions for the W87 and W88 were extended to
finalize laboratory weapon responses and peer review in support of the Hazard
Analysis Report submittals. In addition,
the nuclear explosive safety study extensions were approved until March 31, 2005,
for the B83 and W87 programs, and April 30, 2005, for the W88 to compensate for
the time lost due to the CREM stand-down.
Similarly, the Standing Management Team
is in the
process of revising Issue I of the Integrated Weapon Activity Plan that was approved July 14, 2004 for CREM
related impacts.
Twenty-four out of twenty-seven
commitments in the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Recommendation 98-2
have been delivered and three remain outstanding. If you have questions, please call me at
202-586-4879 or have your staff contact Mr. Michael Brown at 505-845-6258.
Sincerely,
M. Schoenbauer
Acting Assistant Deputy
Administrator
for Military Application and
Stockpile Operations
Defense Programs
Quarterly Report for the
Implementation
Plan DNFSB Recommendation 98-2
NESS Extension for the W87
Weapon Program
NESS Extension for the W88
Weapon Program
NESS Extension for the B83-0/1
Weapon Program
Approval of Exemption Extension
Request for
10CFR830, Subpart B
cc w/enclosures
J. McConnell, DNFSB
W. Andrews, DNFSB
A. Matteucci, DNFSB
M. Whitaker, DR-1
S. Erhart, PXSO