Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) received over $37 million for its annual award fee despite its self-induced safety pause and a long list of deficiencies documented by the Department of Energy. The Savannah River Site’s management and operations contractor conducts work for the DOE Office of Environmental Management and the National Nuclear Security Administration. SRNS for fiscal 2015 was awarded $24.1 million out of a possible $27.2 million for its environmental management work and $13.7 million out of a possible $18.5 million for NNSA work. Overall, the contractor received 82 percent of its possible award fee.
Contractors earn award fees each year either by completing work called for in the contract or devoting a specified level of effort for a stated time period, according to the department. The SRNS scorecard cites the September operational safety pause, which was initiated after four employees improperly stored a plutonium sample in a container not suitable for transport. After the incident, SRNS ceased all nonessential missions in order to review procedures. The pause has ended but many operations are in a reduced work phase and have still not returned to normal operations.
Other deficiencies noted by the Energy Department include radiological protection issues during training drills and fire department mishaps during other drills. Funds were also docked because SRNS and the Savannah River National Laboratory wrongfully authorized the packaging of foreign special nuclear materials. Shipping the materials would have violated a shipping package safety analysis report for packaging and the K-Area documented safety analysis, according to the scorecard. DOE also deemed SRNS’ coordination with the site’s tritium facilities inadequate, which resulted in additional costs and risks to the delivery schedule.
The department noted several positives as well, including SRNS’ recognizing the need for a safety pause after the container incident. "Implementation of the operational pause was a positive action, which led to a comprehensive review of site-wide procedures and an engagement with the SRNS workforce on the importance of effective Conduct of Operations in all site activities," the department wrote.
Meanwhile, Centerra-Savannah River Site, the SRS security contractor, received $5.28 million of a possible $5.74 million for its fiscal 2015 award fee. Overall, Centerra received 92 percent of its available award fee.
DOE said on Centerra’s scorecard that the contractor performed well in several areas including protective force operations and training, protective force management and support, and cost control. During the fiscal year, Centerra faced a number of real world security incidents requiring an armed, protective force (PF) response, according to DOE.
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