[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 139 (Tuesday, July 21, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39079-39080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-19509]


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DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD


Sunshine Act Meeting

    Pursuant to the provision of the ``Government in the Sunshine Act'' 
(5 U.S.C. Sec. 552b), notice is hereby given of the Defense Nuclear 
Facilities Safety Board's (Board) meeting described below.
TIME AND DATE OF MEETING: 3:00 p.m. on August 4, 1998.

PLACE: Federal Building Auditorium, 825 Jadwin Avenue, Richland 
Washington 99352.

STATUS: Open.

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: Board members will review with the Department 
of Energy (DOE) and its contractors the status of implementation of the 
Board's Recommendation 92-4. Recommendation 92-4 called for a 
systematic approach to addressing health and safety requirements during 
the design, construction, and operation of the Hanford Tank Waste 
Remediation system (TWRS).

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: Robert M. Andersen, General 
Counsel, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, 625 Indiana Avenue, 
NE, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20004, (800) 788-4016. This is a toll-
free number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: One of the major waste stabilization 
initiatives of the Department of Energy (DOE) has been the Hanford 
Site's TWRS. The TWRS will retrieve, process, and immobilize the more 
than 50 million gallons of high level radioactive waste currently 
stored in 177 underground storage tanks at the Hanford Site. In 1992, 
the Board noted deficiencies in the technical justification and 
planning for the Hanford TWRS Multi-function Waste Tank Facility 
(MWTF). As a result, in Recommendation 92-4, the board recommended to 
the Secretary of Energy that DOE adopt a systems engineering approach 
that ensures that health and safety requirements of the project are 
addressed in each phase of the project life cycle. The Secretary's 
Implementation Plan committed to adopting a systems engineering 
approach for the MWTF project and the entire TSRS. Additionally, DOE 
committed to taking systems approach for its site integration efforts.
    Following the adoption of the privatization concept for a portion 
of the TWRS, DOE revised its Implementation Plan in October 1997. The 
DOE Implementation Plan committed to meeting the following objectives 
(1) institutionalizing systems engineering for the TWRS, (2) 
incorporating the privatization effort into the overall systems 
approach, and (3) coordinating the development of needed technology for 
the system. DOE's implementation is nearing completion.
    A public meeting will be conducted by the Board to hear from staff 
members from DOE and its contractors responsible for the TWRS. These 
individuals will brief the Board on the status of activities under the 
Secretary's Implementation Plan for Recommendation 92-4.
    A transcript of this proceeding will be made available by the Board 
for inspection by the public at the Board's Washington, D.C. office and 
at the DOE's Public Reading Room, 2770 University Drive, CIC, Room 
101L. P.O. Box 999, mail stop H2-53, Richland, Washington 99352. 
Recommendation 92-4 in its entirety is also on file at DOe's Public 
Reading Room in Richland and at the Board's Washington, D.C. office.
    The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety board reserves its right to 
further schedule and otherwise regulate the course of this meeting, to 
recess, reconvene, postpone or adjourn the meeting, and otherwise 
exercise its

[[Page 39080]]

authority under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.

    Dated: July 17, 1998.
John T. Conway,
Chairman.
[FR Doc. 98-19509 Filed 7-17-98; 3:32 pm]
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