Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board

The Department of Energy on Sunday finalized changes to its rule about nuclear safety management that, according to the government’s independent nuclear health and safety watchdog, could encourage contractors to unsafely increase radioactive hazards in old buildings. After about two years of deliberation, the agency published its changes to  Title 10, Part 830 of the Code of […]

The Department of Energy on Sunday finalized changes to its rule about nuclear safety management that, according to the government’s independent nuclear health and safety watchdog, could encourage contractors to unsafely increase radioactive hazards in old buildings. After about two years of deliberation, the agency published its changes to  Title 10, Part 830 of the Code of […]

The Department of Energy on Sunday finalized changes to its rule about nuclear safety management that, according to the government’s independent nuclear health and safety watchdog, could encourage contractors to unsafely increase radioactive hazards in old buildings. After about two years of deliberation, the agency published its changes to  Title 10, Part 830 of the […]

Officials at the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory are looking into Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board concerns that the New Mexico site should do more to minimize the risk of a transuranic waste drum explosion. The board, in a letter dated Sept. 24, found that safety bases for both DOE’s semiautonomous National Nuclear […]

Personnel at the Pantex Plant will have their dosimetry badges analyzed at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee indefinitely after the Texas assembly facility’s decades-old dosimetry processing equipment finally broke down. Pantex shifted dosimetry processing to Y-12 on a permanent basis at the end of September, and “there are no current plans to restore […]

There are 74 active cases of COVID-19 currently within the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management’s nuclear cleanup sites, an agency spokesperson said late Thursday. That is slightly up from the 70 active cases the prior week across the 16 former Cold War and Manhattan Project sites overseen by the office, but still less […]

The former chair of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board used procedural tactics to block board approval of a COVID-19 response plan that complied with federal best practices, the inspector general of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said. The independent federal nuclear health-and-safety watchdog drafted a COVID-19 response plan at the onset of the pandemic, but […]

The former chair of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board used procedural tactics to block board approval of a COVID-19 response plan that complied with federal best practices, the inspector general of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said. The independent federal nuclear health-and-safety watchdog drafted a COVID-19 response plan at the onset of the pandemic, but […]

The former chair of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board used procedural tactics to block board approval of a COVID-19 response plan that complied with federal best practices, the inspector general of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said. The independent federal nuclear health-and-safety watchdog drafted a COVID-19 response plan at the onset of the pandemic, but […]

The Department of Energy has decided not to have a potential member of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) lead its discussions about communications between the agency and the safety watchdog. In a Sept. 15, letter to the now former DNFSB Chairman Bruce Hamilton, Deputy Secretary of Energy Mark Menezes said Todd Lapointe, DOE’s […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) has endorsed a “Pandemic Response and Recovery Plan” that spells out a strategy for a gradual return to on-site work at its Washington, D.C., headquarters and elsewhere. Since mid-March the DNFSB and its roughly 100-member staff have worked in a “maximum telework posture” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, […]

The top brass at the Energy Department has decided not to have a potential member of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) lead its discussions about communications between the agency and the safety watchdog. In a Sept. 15, letter to the now former DNFSB Chairman Bruce Hamilton, Deputy Secretary of Energy Mark Menezes said […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) has endorsed a “Pandemic Response and Recovery Plan” that spells out a strategy for a gradual return to on-site work at its Washington, D.C., headquarters and elsewhere. Since mid-March the DNFSB and its roughly 100-member staff have worked in a “maximum telework posture” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, […]

There will be no emergency management drills at the Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina until early 2021, according to a recently posted weekly report on the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s website. An Aug. 21 report from board inspectors to Christopher Roscetti, the board’s technical director, indicated that leaders of the respective […]

With Bruce Hamilton’s Sept. 12 resignation as chairman, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is back down to three members, two of them Democrats. The chairman unexpectedly resigned Aug. 31, apparently for family reasons, a source said, only weeks after he and the three other DNFSB members were confirmed for new terms by the U.S. […]

The Government Accountability Office is tracking DOE’s progress on returning the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico to a pre-accident operations clip and plans a full report this year, an official with Congress’ investigative arm said recently. The report will be among the first comprehensive external looks at DOE’s efforts to transition its unique, […]

With Bruce Hamilton’s Sept. 12 resignation as chairman, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is back down to three members, two of them Democrats. The chairman unexpectedly resigned Aug. 31, apparently for family reasons, only weeks after he and the three other DNFSB members were confirmed for new terms by the U.S. Senate via voice […]

There will be no emergency management drills at the Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina until early 2021, according to a recently posted weekly report on the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s website. An Aug. 21 report from board inspectors to Christopher Roscetti, the board’s technical director, indicated that leaders of the respective […]

The Government Accountability Office is tracking DOE’s progress on returning the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico to a pre-accident operations clip and plans a full report this year, an official with Congress’ investigative arm said recently. The report will be among the first comprehensive external looks at DOE’s efforts to transition its unique, […]

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Chairman Bruce Hamilton is resigning from the panel, effective next week, the agency said Monday. Hamilton submitted his resignation to President Donald Trump, according to a one-paragraph announcement from the agency. The DNFSB said Hamilton will depart on Sept. 12 – just over two months after he was confirmed […]

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Chairman Bruce Hamilton is resigning from the panel, effective next week, the agency said Monday. Hamilton submitted his resignation to President Donald Trump, according to a one-paragraph announcement from the agency. The DNFSB said Hamilton will depart on Sept. 12 – just over two months after he was confirmed […]

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Chairman Bruce Hamilton is resigning from the panel, effective early this month, the agency said in a press release late Monday. Hamilton has submitted his resignation to President Donald Trump, according to a one-paragraph announcement. The panel’s vice chairman and newest member, Thomas Summers, will step in as acting chairman. […]

Thomas Summers, a former Air Force officer confirmed last month by the U.S. Senate for a post at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB), will be sworn in on Monday. Summers will be vice chairman of the federal health-and-safety watchdog for defense-nuclear sites, DNFSB Manager of Board Operations Tara Tadlock said in a Wednesday […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board asked Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette for an in-person meeting by “early fall” to discuss a possible memorandum of understanding about a  now two year-old DOE order that limits the agency’s contact with the board. This summer, DOE finalized changes to Order 140.1, adding congressionally mandated language requiring that […]

The White House on Tuesday nominated a former staff member at the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board (DNFSB) to become a member of the panel. Matthew Moury has since June 2017 served as Energy Department associate undersecretary for environment, health, safety, and security. His nomination to the DNFSB will be considered first by the Senate […]

In a revised order, the Department of Energy has relaxed the firewall it attempted to erect between personnel at nuclear-weapon sites and the federal agency responsible for sniffing out potential threats to public safety from those operations. The Energy Department shared a draft of the revised Order 140.1 with the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) in […]

The White House on Tuesday nominated a former staff member at the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board (DNFSB) to become a member of the panel. Matthew Moury has since June 2017 served as Energy Department associate undersecretary for environment, health, safety, and security. His nomination to the DNFSB will be considered first by the Senate […]

In a revised order, the Department of Energy has relaxed the firewall it attempted to erect between personnel at nuclear-weapon sites and the federal agency responsible for sniffing out potential threats to public safety from those operations. The Energy Department shared a draft of the revised Order 140.1 with the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) in […]

In a revised order, the Department of Energy has relaxed the firewall it attempted to erect between personnel at nuclear-weapon sites and the federal agency responsible for sniffing out potential threats to public safety from those operations. The Energy Department shared a draft of the revised Order 140.1 with the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board […]

The White House on Tuesday nominated a former staff member at the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board (DNFSB) to become a member of the panel. Matthew Moury has since June 2017 served as Energy Department associate undersecretary for environment, health, safety, and security. His nomination to the DNFSB will be considered first by the Senate […]