DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD(DNFSB)

Chairman Joyce Connery
November 1, 2021

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Board Overview•

Established by Congress in 1988•

Five Presidentially-appointed, Senate-confirmed members (bipartisan)•Statutory mission: Provide independent analysis, advice, and recommendations to the Secretary of Energy toinform the Secretary, in the role of the Secretary as operator and regulator of the defense nuclear facilities of theDepartment of Energy, in providing adequate protection of public health and safety at defense nuclear facilities,
including with respect to the health and safety of employees and contractors at such facilities•The Secretary of Energy determines how best to apply the information provided by the Board

Current Board Members

Joyce L. Connery
Chair

Thomas A. Summers
Vice Chair

Jessie Hill Roberson
Board Member

VacantVacant2

Locations

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Establishment of the DNFSB• Department of Energy is self-regulating• Late 1980s:

Breached nuclear
waste container due
to plutonium reaction

 Cold War: waning public acceptance of nuclear weapon
production and erosion of safety
 High profile nuclear accidents (e.g., Chernobyl)• Congress questioned DOE’s ability to manage thecomplex and wanted a body of seasoned experts toreport unbiased and timely information on the state of
the DOE defense nuclear complex

Temporary disposal ofnuclear waste at INL• Spearheaded by Senator John Glenn• Congress established the Board and charged it withidentifying potential issues of adequate protection atdefense nuclear facilities, advising the Secretary ofEnergy of those issues, and informing the public

Spent fuel pool at
Hanford K Reactor

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Board Overview—Major Statutory Authorities• Statutory safety oversight activities:

 Review and evaluate the content and implementation ofstandards
 Investigate events or practices that may adversely impact publichealth or safety
 Analyze design and operational data
 Review facility design and construction

Transuranic waste shipment leaving Los Alamos• Statutory authorities:

 Issue formal recommendations to the Secretary of Energy
 Levy reporting requirements on the Secretary of Energy Conduct open or closed hearings and meetings to include
subpoena witnesses (if needed) Conduct investigations and special studies

TRU waste shipment approaching the WIPP site.

DOE is required by law to grant the Board “prompt and unfettered access to such facilities,personnel, and information as the Board considers necessary to carry out its responsibilities.”5

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Board Overview—Scope of Safety Oversight• Nuclear safety oversight of: Complex, high-hazard operations involving the assembly or disassemblyof nuclear weapons, or the operation of nuclear facilities related toDOE’s national defense mission
 Remediation of nuclear wastes and legacy facilities from more than 70years of DOE defense nuclear operations

Dome 49 at Area G Design and construction of new DOE defense nuclear facilities
 Aging and deteriorating mission critical infrastructure at DOE defense
nuclear facilities/sites
 Adequacy of DOE safety standards related to design, construction,operations, and decommissioning of defense nuclear facilities
Resident Inspectors perform near-continuous oversight atHanford, Los Alamos, Pantex, Savannah River Site, and Y-12

LANL Area G with roof skin ripped
open and drums exposed6Interface Between DOE and DNFSB• The interface between DNFSB and DOE must be consistent with the roles assigned byCongress:
Maintain DOE’s responsibility for self-regulating to provide reasonable assurance ofadequate protection from radiological hazards; identify and mitigate risks to an
acceptable level in operating its defense nuclear facilities; and conduct government
oversight of its contractors
Maintain the Board’s independence and access to facilities, personnel, andinformation to conduct safety oversight at Defense Nuclear Facilities to provide
advice and make recommendations to the Secretary7

Conduct of Technical Reviews• The technical staff performs reviews to obtain and provide the Boardinformation to independently:
Determine whether DOE, its contractors, and its sub-contractors are adequately
implementing appropriate laws, regulations, directives, invoked DOE technicalstandards, and applicable national consensus standards
Analyze design and operational data used in DOE’s activities to evaluate
technical adequacyDetermine whether DOE’s programs and activities will adequately protect thepublic and workers

8Nuclear Materials Processing and Stabilization
DOE Environmental Management Sites• Hanford• Savannah River Site
• Waste Isolation Pilot Plant• Idaho National Laboratory• Oak Ridge – Environmental Management

Focus Areas• Waste characterization• Facility decommissioning/demolition• Remediation efforts

Transuranic waste storage at Idaho National Laboratory
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Nuclear Weapon Programs
National Nuclear Security Administration Sites• Los Alamos National Laboratory• Sandia National Laboratories• Y-12 National Security Complex• Pantex Plant• Savannah River NNSA Facilities (i.e., Tritium Facilities)• Nevada National Security Site
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Flat-top Criticality Assembly

Focus Areas• Uranium & plutonium processing• Assembly/disassembly of nuclearweapons• Tooling design• Critical & subcritical experiment
operations

Annular Core Research Reactor at SNL

Explosives testing at NNSS
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Nuclear Programs and Analysis• Focus on complex-wide issues and safety management programs• Focus areas: Criticality Safety Conduct of Operations
 Directives
 Safety Basis DOE Oversight Emergency Response11

Nuclear Facilities Infrastructure and Projects (NFIP)
and Field Operations (FO)
• NFIP focuses on design and construction, aging infrastructure and project
management
 Los Alamos Plutonium Pit Production
 Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility
 Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant High-Level Waste Facility
 Maintenance of Underground Cabling Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Building 332 Seismic Safety Plutonium Facility Seismic Performance Assessment
 Structural Performance Review of Y-12 Facilities with Enduring Missions• FO supervises the resident inspectors, who are at SRS, Y-12, LANL, Pantex, andHanford

12Major Areas of Concern• Nuclear Safety Requirements• Aging Infrastructure• Nuclear Criticality Safety• Emergency Response• Conduct of Operations• Nuclear Explosive SafetyRuptured drum at INL• Seismic Hazards• Transuranic Waste Safety

Debris From Ceiling Fall in Y-12 Building 9204-2

New drag strut at LANL PF-4 for seismic
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Uncertainty Principles for Discussion
1) Where there is reducible uncertainty, efforts should be put into reducing
the uncertainty;
2) Where there is unreduced or irreducible uncertainty, then the threat ofharm should be assumed to be present;3) Burden of proof rests with the proponents of the activity, not with theopponents.

These are the key aspects of the constraints placed on both theoperator and the regulator in dealing with the public
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Overall HEALTH of D&D Programs
1.Increase Stability – create a more stable operating environment
for high-risk facilities and activities
2.Manage organizational change – ensure continuity of importantsafety-related responsibilities and functions
3.Improve Countermeasures – strengthen checks and balances
between safety and mission responsibilities
4.Monitor Safety Awareness – continually monitor health ofcultures and safety programs and seek improvement

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ADDRESSING UNKNOWNS• PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE—Conduct of Operations andprocedures should be specific, detailed and rehearsed• The inevitable unknown—what to do? REASSESS hazards! Pause
until new hazards are assessed and procedures adapted• Emergency Response—Full scale drills with relevant responders &communities. Assess and practice again.
• Firm but flexible. Be firm in commitment to safe operations, but
flexible in approach. There can be risk introduced to gain benefit.
• COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE…start with thequestion: WHY?
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17Questions?
Board communications, Resident Inspector weekly reports, Public Meeting andHearing information and other agency information are available at:www.DNFSB.gov

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