Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
5/23/2014
Concerns over numerous recent operations and engineering issues at the Savannah River Site are growing in both the Department of Energy and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Operations Office sent a letter last month to the site’s managing contractor, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, asking for a corrective action plan for numerous conduct of engineering issues. Meanwhile the DNFSB said late last week it was “increasingly concerned” with issues by both SRNS and the site’s liquid waste cleanup contractor, Savannah River Remediation, LLC. “Complicating the situation have been the persistently high backlogs of corrective maintenance, increased downtime at processing facilities due to equipment issues, multiple errors in engineering and nuclear safety documents, and weaknesses in the training program,” the Board wrote in a May 16 letter to acting DOE cleanup chief David Huizenga.
While the issues have been caught by DOE representatives and engineers, “the Board is concerned about the implications and collective significance of these issues,” the letter states, adding: “The Board appreciates that DOE and its contractors share many of these concerns and are implementing actions to improve performance. While work pauses and all-hands briefings have the potential to increase awareness in the short term, the Board is more interested in the institutional actions planned to produce sustained performance improvements in the site’s fundamental safety programs.” The DNFSB asked for a briefing within 60 days on actions taken to improve performance at Savannah River.
DOE Notes ‘Adverse Trend’ in Engineering
Meanwhile, in an April 7 letter to SRNS, DOE noted “an adverse trend in performing conduct of engineering.” The letter lists eight separate issues, including errors in the HB-Line Documented safety analysis, issues with a Consolidated Hazards Analysis Process and the H-Canyon Safety Basis. “I am aware that you have acknowledged this adverse trend and have begun to take actions to identify the causes and implement the necessary corrective actions,” DOE Savannah River official Pat McGuire wrote in the letter. “I also commend you and your staff on the willingness to self-identify errors; however, due to the significance of this trend and the impact the Engineering Program has on facility safety, I am requesting you evaluate this trend and identify potential causes and develop a Corrective Action Plan and Schedule to address the causes and reverse this trend.”
In a response to DOE, SRNS asked for a one-month extension for submission of the corrective action plan, which is now due on June 9. The contractor “has assembled a team of facility and program personnel to conduct a causal analysis using the Behavior Engineering Model,” the SRNS letter states. SRNS did not respond to a request for comment this week.
Other areas identified this year by the DNFSB and DOE as concerns for SRNS include non-compliance with Technical Safety Requirements for risk reduction activities at the 235-F project and placing H-Canyon in “warm standby” mode for modifications to the ventilation system. Liquid waste contractor SRR also experienced several issues, including five minor contamination events, Technical Safety Requirements and Potential Inadequacies in the Safety Analysis. SRR this week referred request for comment to DOE.
DOE Says It’s Tracking Corrective Actions
DOE-SR spokesman Jim Giusti said in a statement this week: “DOE’s Savannah River Site remains concerned about non-compliance with Technical Safety Requirements (TSRs), lack of rigor in Conduct of Operations, and contamination occurrences of recent months. In response to these events, DOE-Savannah River Site has worked with the two contractor organizations to proactively analyze and put in place corrective actions to prevent recurrence. The Department is currently monitoring those actions through closure, and will verify adequacy of the corrective actions after closure.”
He added: “Safety and Conduct of Operations remain paramount to safely accomplishing Savannah River Site’s missions of storage and disposition of nuclear materials, liquid waste, and decontamination and decommissioning projects. DOE-SR has reviewed the contributing causes and corrective actions determined by contractors SRR and SRNS, and concur with the determinations of both organizations. Additionally, DOE-SR staff is tracking corrective actions and will verify adequate closure of the actions. Safe and disciplined operation continues to be a fundamental expectation of the Department of Energy and the Savannah River Operations Office. DOE-SR, SRR and SRNS management have advised the technical staffs at all facilities to remain vigilant to safe and disciplined operations.”
