Joyce L. Connery, Chair

Thomas A. Summers, Vice Chair

DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES

SAFETY BOARD

Washington, DC 20004-2901

December 19, 2023

The Honorable Jennifer M. Granholm

Secretary of Energy

US Department of Energy

1000 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20585-1000

Dear Secretary Granholm:

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (Board) reviews and evaluates the content 

and implementation of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) safety standards (e.g., directives and 

technical standards) pertaining to DOE’s defense nuclear facilities. Additionally, the Board 

makes safety recommendations for necessary changes to those safety standards that will help to 

ensure DOE’s adequate protection of public health and safety.

Under this authority, on December 16, 2022, the Board informed DOE that the Board had 

selected several safety standards to review in fiscal year (FY) 2023. Below is a summary of the

safety reviews that the Board conducted in FY2023.

• DOE Handbook 3010, Airborne Release Fractions/Rates and Respirable Fractions 

for Nonreactor Nuclear Facilities—In 2021, DOE proposed revisions to select 

portions of this safety handbook on airborne release fraction and respirable fraction 

experimental data for nonreactor nuclear facilities in the DOE complex. The Board’s 

staff provided comments to DOE in October 2021, and DOE intends to respond to the 

comments in the near future. The staff will continue this effort in FY2024.

• DOE Handbook 1224, Hazard and Accident Analysis Handbook—This safety 

handbook guides development of documented safety analyses for nuclear facilities to 

satisfy the safety requirements of the safe harbor methods set out in Title 10 Code of 

Federal Regulations Part 830, Subpart B. DOE proposed revisions to this handbook 

in 2020. The Board’s staff provided comments in 2021 on the draft revision of the 

handbook and met with DOE personnel on several occasions in 2022 and 2023 to 

discuss the comments. The staff will continue this effort in FY2024.

• DOE Order 425.1, Verification of Readiness to Start Up or Restart Nuclear 

Facilities—In 2021, DOE began revising this order that provides requirements 

governing conduct of readiness reviews and was originally issued (under a different 

identifying number) in response to Board Recommendation 92-6, Operational 

Readiness Reviews. The Board’s staff provided comments in April 2023 on the 
The Honorable Jennifer M. Granholm Page 2

proposed revision and met with DOE personnel on several occasions in 2023 to 

discuss DOE’s response to the comments. The Board’s letter of December 5, 2023, 

identified safety concerns with the proposed revision. The staff will continue this

effort in FY2024.

• DOE Standard 1066, Fire Protection—The Board’s staff provided significant 

comments to DOE in 2021 and 2022 on this safety standard that provides acceptable 

methods and approaches for meeting DOE’s fire protection program and design 

requirements. In FY2022 and FY2023, the Board’s staff met with the DOE Fire 

Safety Committee on several occasions to discuss the comments. DOE incorporated

many of these comments in the revised standard issued in June 2023.

• DOE Handbook 1545, Seismic Evaluation Procedure for Equipment in U.S. 

Department of Energy Facilities—This new safety handbook provides comprehensive 

safety guidance for consistent seismic evaluations of equipment in DOE facilities. 

The Board’s staff provided comments to DOE in February 2023 on the proposed

handbook. The staff will continue this effort in FY2024.

• DOE Standard 1129, Tritium Handling and Safe Storage—DOE did not revise this 

safety standard in FY 2023, as it originally intended. The staff plans to review the 

safety standard when DOE revises it.

• DOE Order 435.1, Radioactive Waste Management—The Board’s staff reviewed an 

early draft of the revision to this order that added some content from DOE Manual 

435.1-1, Radioactive Waste Management Manual. The staff provided comments to 

DOE in May 2023 and will continue this effort in FY2024.

• DOE Limited Standard 3016, Hazard Analysis Reports for Nuclear Explosive 

Operations—In 2021, DOE proposed a revision to this safety standard on conduct of 

hazard analyses and preparation of hazard analysis reports for nuclear explosive 

operations conducted by DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). 

In 2022, DOE substantially reworked its revisions to address comments from various 

stakeholders, including the Board and its staff. DOE incorporated these comments in 

the revised standard issued in April 2023.

• DOE Standard 1239, Chemical Safety Management Program—This draft DOE

standard provides expectations and guidance for managing chemical safety at DOE 

sites and facilities. The Board’s staff provided comments to DOE in June 2023. The 

staff met with DOE personnel in August 2023 and will continue this effort in 

FY2024.

• DOE Standard 1234, Radioactive Material Storage Containers—This new safety 

standard on storage container technical criteria will supersede DOE Manual 441.1-1, 

Nuclear Material Packaging, that was developed in response to Recommendation 

2005-1, Nuclear Material Packaging. The Board’s staff provided comments to DOE 

in September 2023 on the draft standard and will continue this effort in FY2024.
The Honorable Jennifer M. Granholm Page 3

• DOE Order 251.1, Departmental Directives Program—In March 2023, the DOE 

Deputy Secretary issued a memorandum that directed revision of this order on DOE’s 

directives program. The Board’s staff provided comments to DOE in July 2023 on 

the proposed revision and will continue this effort in FY2024.

• DOE Order 414.1, Quality Assurance—In 2022, DOE began revising this order on 

quality assurance. The Board’s staff met with DOE personnel in June 2023 on the 

proposed revision and provided comments to DOE in July 2023. The staff will 

continue this effort in FY2024.

• DOE Order 421.1, Nuclear Safety Basis—DOE developed this new safety directive 

as part of the implementation plan for Recommendation 2020-1, Nuclear Safety 

Requirements. The Board’s staff met with DOE personnel on several occasions in 

2023 and provided comments in September 2023 on an early draft version. The staff 

will continue this effort in FY2024.

In determining which DOE safety standards and their implementations to review in 

FY2024, the Board has considered those that it has already started reviewing, those that are 

planned for revision, those that have complex-wide effects, and those that establish controls for 

high-hazard activities. The Board has selected the following safety standards to review in 

FY2024:

• DOE Order 151.1, Comprehensive Emergency Management System,

• DOE Order 251.1, Departmental Directives Program,

• DOE Order 414.1, Quality Assurance, 

• DOE Order 421.1, Nuclear Safety Basis,

• DOE Order 425.1, Verification of Readiness to Start Up or Restart Nuclear 

Facilities,

• DOE Order 433.1, Maintenance Management Program for DOE Nuclear Facilities,

• DOE Order 435.1, Radioactive Waste Management,

• DOE Standard 1020, Natural Phenomena Hazards Analysis and Design Criteria for 

DOE Facilities,

• DOE Standard 1027, Hazard Categorization of DOE Nuclear Facilities,

• DOE Handbook 1220, Natural Phenomena Hazards Analysis and Design Handbook 

for DOE Facilities,
The Honorable Jennifer M. Granholm Page 4

• DOE Handbook 1224, Hazard and Accident Analysis Handbook,

• DOE Standard 1234, Radioactive Material Storage Containers,

• DOE Standard 1239, Chemical Safety Management Program,

• DOE Handbook 1545, Seismic Evaluation Procedure for Equipment in U.S. 

Department of Energy Facilities,

• DOE Standard 3006, Planning and Conducting Readiness Reviews,

• DOE Handbook 3010, Airborne Release Fractions/Rates and Respirable Fractions 

for Nonreactor Nuclear Facilities,

• NNSA Supplemental Directive 251.1, Directives Management, and

• Orders and technical standards that DOE revises as a result of its work on the 

implementation plan for Recommendation 2020-1, Nuclear Safety Requirements (e.g.,

DOE Order 420.1, Facility Safety and DOE Standard 1104, Review and Approval 

of Nuclear Facility Safety Basis and Safety Design Basis Documents).

The Board may elect to add or change reviews of DOE safety directives and technical 

standards as it deems appropriate. The Board also welcomes DOE’s feedback on additional 

safety directives that warrant the Board’s review.

Sincerely,

Joyce L. Connery

Chair

c: Mr. Joe Olencz
1. 

2. 

AFFIRMATION OF BOARD VOTING RECORD

SUBJECT: FY24 Review of DOE Standards

Doc Control#: 2024-100-0005

The Board acted on the above document on 12/21/2023. The document was Approved.

The votes were recorded as:

APRVD DISAPRVD ABSTAIN NOT 

PARTICIPATING COMMENT DATE

Joyce L. Connery 12/19/2023

Thomas Summers 12/18/2023

This Record contains a summary of voting on this matter together with the individual vote sheets, views 

and comments of the Board Members.

Nicole Thomas-Hawkins

Board Operations Specialist to the Board

Attachments:

Voting Summary

Board Member Vote Sheets
DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD

NOTATIONAL VOTE RESPONSE SHEET

FROM: Joyce L. Connery

SUBJECT: FY24 Review of DOE Standards

Doc Control#: 2024-100-0005

DATE: 12/19/2023

VOTE: Approved

COMMENTS:

None

Joyce L. Connery
DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD

NOTATIONAL VOTE RESPONSE SHEET

FROM: Thomas Summers

SUBJECT: FY24 Review of DOE Standards

Doc Control#: 2024-100-0005

DATE: 12/18/2023

VOTE: Approved

COMMENTS:

None

Thomas Summers