The Department of Energy (DOE) has outlined improvements to the Pantex Plant’s emergency management program it plans to make by next June on staffing, infrastructure, training, and drills, according to a June 16 letter from Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz to Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Chairman Joyce Connery.
The implementation plan for emergency preparedness and response at the Texas nuclear warhead assembly and disassembly facility addresses three areas of concern identified by the DNFSB last year, Moniz said: weaknesses in the plant’s drill and exercise programs, its ability to deliver timely information to the public on radiological concerns beyond the plant’s property, and inadequate decision-making tools.
Last November, the DNFSB noted in a report to Moniz that certain accident scenarios such as tornados, floods, or earthquakes could disperse radioactive material from the site into public lands. In May, Moniz asked the DNFSB for a 45-day extension to finish a draft implementation plan to address these issues at the plant.
The resulting implementation plan highlights several underlying causes for program weaknesses, including insufficient staffing of the Pantex Emergency Management Department during the DNFSB review period; inconsistent adherence to the documented drill program; aging infrastructure of alarm systems, which causes false alarms; lack of proper management attention to the problem; and inconsistent contractor and federal oversight of the program.
The plant’s training and drill process was enhanced in fiscal 2015 and procedures have been uniformly developed for consistency across the NNSA enterprise, the plan says. It notes that key emergency services management positions have been filled, including the role of senior director of enterprise emergency services, whose responsibilities involve integrating emergency management across both of sites managed by contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security – Pantex and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee.
The contractor has 32 emergency management program personnel at Pantex, and technical experts from Y-12 are an added resource as needed, Steven Wyatt, spokesman for the NNSA Production Office, said by email. “The Implementation Plan activities are well-integrated into the goals, objectives and daily activities of the Pantex program. The Plan is adequately resourced,” Wyatt said.
The implementation plan says a comprehensive staffing study will be conducted to gauge necessary staff numbers and skill requirements for the emergency management program at Pantex.
It also says the plant’s fire alarm system and radiation alarm monitoring systems are scheduled for replacement. The fire alarm system monitoring software is expected to be replaced in fiscal 2017, while radiation alarm monitoring system upgrades are expected to be completed in fiscal 2020, it says.
In addition, Pantex will identify circumstances under which radiological monitoring support is necessary during the six to seven hours it would take for state resources to arrive from Austin in case of an accidental radiological release, it says, adding that the emergency management program will work with the state to obtain field-monitoring equipment.
The department will provide quarterly updates to DNFSB on the plant’s progress until the plan is completed. The first quarterly update, due by Sept. 15, will include milestones such as a determination on the staffing levels necessary for the program. The second quarterly update, due by Dec. 15, will include updates to the training and drills program manual.
The third update, due by March 15, 2017, will offer updates to the plant’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan and related documents concerning the events that require radiological monitoring support and coordination with state and local officials.
The fourth and final quarterly update, due by June 15, 2017, will involve the NNSA coordinating an independent effectiveness review of the program, with a focus on the actions and progress of the implementation plan.
DNFSB did not offer comments on the implementation plan by press time.
