NNSA Agrees to Joint Nuclear Safety Review with DNFSB

The National Nuclear Security Administration has agreed to perform a joint review requested by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board on safety issues in Department of Energy nuclear facilities, according to a letter sent to the DNFSB last week by NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz. The DNFSB proposed in April a “a joint review of the processes by which the DNFSB interacts with the Department of Energy (DOE) to identify potential safety issues in the design and construction of new DOE Defense Nuclear Facilities.” The DOE agreed to the proposal and will conduct the joint review, drawing from the last “eight years of experience” that “should provide the lessons learned to continue to improve the safety review process” between the agency and the Board, the letter says. The letter designates Robert Raines of the NNSA and Jack Surash of DOE Environmental Management as points of contact for the review.