[DOE LETTER HEAD]
July 23, 2008
The Honorable A. J. Eggenberger
Chairman
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
625 Indiana Avenue, N.W., Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20004-2901
Dear Mr. Chairman:
This letter transmits the Department of Energy (DOE) Annual Report on Nuclear Criticality Safety you requested in your letter of January 29, 2008. There are two enclosures that respond in detail to the eight topics you specifically identified. One is a response from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The other is a response from the Office of Environmental Management (EM). Both have a concise summary report supported by detailed reports from their respective Site Offices.
In addition, your letter expressed a concern that Chief of Nuclear Safety (CNS) and Chief of Defense Nuclear Safety (CDNS) site reviews might not be of sufficient depth to adequately review site nuclear criticality safety programs. While no single review can guarantee that all issues needing attention will be identified, both the CNS and CDNS are conducting ongoing reviews that should be effective in monitoring the health of site criticality safety programs. The CNS is working closely with EM as line management conducts periodic in-depth site reviews. The CDNS conducts periodic reviews at NNSA sites utilizing expertise drawn from the DOE Criticality Safety Coordinating Team or the Criticality Safety Support Group.
If you have any questions or need further information, please contact Mr. Dae Chung at 202-586-5151 for EM related issues and Dr. Jerry N. McKamy at 301-903-8031 for NNSA related issues.
Sincerely,
Robert L. Smolen
Deputy Administrator
�for Defense Programs
cc:
T. D' Agostino, NA-1 (without enclosure)
R. Smolen, NA-10 (without enclosure)
M. Whitaker, HS-1.1
R. Lagdon, CNS
D. Nichols, CDNS
J. Rispoli, EM-1