DNFSB ‘INCREASINGLY CONCERNED’ ABOUT ISSUES AT SAVANNAH RIVER

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is “increasingly concerned” with numerous recent issues at the Savannah River Site related to safe work performance, the Board said late last week in a letter to Department of Energy cleanup chief Dave Huizenga. Both contractors Savannah River Nuclear Solutions and Savannah River Remediation have experienced issues this year, including implementing safety controls, conducting maintenance and hazardous energy control. “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,” states the May 16 letter.

 

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.