Despite its dwindling number of board members, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) kept busy as a safety watchdog for the Department of Energy during fiscal 2025, according to a recent report.
Set up 35 years ago by Congress as a five-member panel, DNFSB is down to a single member, Patricia Lee. Nevertheless, work continues to be done site inspectors and other members of DNFSB’s roughly 120-person staff, according to the agency financial report.
“The DNFSB’s strength lies in the dedication and expertise of its board members and staff,” Lee said in a report introduction. “During FY 2025, we bid farewell to our former board Chair, Joyce L. Connery. For the second time in the Agency’s history, the Board lost a quorum.” Then in early 2026, DNFSB Acting Chair Thomas Summer departed.
“However, we continue to fulfill many of our statutory responsibilities while we wait for the nomination and confirmation of additional board members,” Lee said.
Likewise, the board is also encouraged by the Donald Trump administration’s $45-million budget request, a $3-million increase over fiscal 2025.
The DNFSB produced a total of 249 resident inspector weekly reports on DOE nuclear facilities such as the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, according to the board’s agency financial report to Congress.
The report was completed last month and posted on the DNFSB website Jan. 13.
“The Congress created the board and charged it with responsibility to review the safety standards that pertain to all life-cycle phases of defense nuclear facilities design, construction, operation, and decommissioning,” according to the 84-page document. “The board is also responsible for investigating any event or practice at a DOE facility that has adversely impacted or could adversely affect public health and safety.”
Fiscal 2025 ended Sept. 30, 2025.