October 2, 2003, Department letter regarding status of oversight assessments of National Nuclear Security Administration contractor training programs

[DOE LETTERHEAD]

National Nuclear Security Administration

October 2, 2003

The Honorable John T. Conway

Chairman

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board

625 Indiana Avenue, NW.

Suite 700

Washington, D.C. 20004-2901

Dear Mr. Chairman:

This is in response to your July 9, 2003, letter requesting Site Offices to report on the scope and periodicity of the training assessments conducted as required by Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5480.20A. Of the seven sites with nuclear facilities, Y-12 Site Office (YSO), Sandia Site Office (SSO), and Savannah River Site Office (SRSO) reported that periodic reviews of training and qualification programs were being conducted in accordance with Order requirements using DOE Standard 1070-94, and the Pantex Site Office (PXSO) has just recently completed a review of 5480.20A using DOE Standard 1070-94. The Los Alamos Site Office (LASO), Nevada Site Office (NSO), and Livermore Site Office (LSO) indicated that they are not in compliance. LASO and LSO plan to conduct the required reviews by the end of June 2004. NSO indicated that they are in the process of implementing procedures and processes for nuclear work including training. NSO indicated that they will be in compliance with 5480.20A in the Device Assembly Facility by the end of 2003, and for the subcritical experiments by the end of 2004.

Several Site Offices reported local resource issues and a common desire to leverage training resources from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Service Center to provide assessment support for required DOE Order 5480.20A reviews. We will ensure these resources are provided to achieve compliance with the Order requirements. Individual site responses are included in the enclosure.

We share the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s (DNFSB) concern regarding NNSA oversight of site-level training programs. We will notify DNFSB upon completion of the reviews of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Nevada Test Site training and qualification program. Corrective actions and implementation schedules provided in the enclosure are intended to resolve the identified issues.

If you have any questions, please call me or have your staff contact Emil Morrow, NNSA Federal Technical Capability Agent at (202) 586-5530.

Sincerely,

Everet H. Beckner

Deputy Administrator

for Defense Programs

Enclosure

cc w/enclosure:

M. Whitaker, DR-1