[SOE LETTERHEAD]

 

November 4, 2004

 

The Honorable John T. Conway

Chairman

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board

625 Indiana Avenue, NW, Suite 700

Washington, D.C. 20004

 

Dear Mr. Chairman:

 

This letter describes the status and schedule for completing Commitment 4.4 in the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Implementation Plan (IP) for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s Recommendation 2002-3, Requirements for Design, Implementation and Maintenance of Administrative Controls.

 

The 2002-3 IP describes actions the Department will take to assure that administrative controls selected to provide for the safe operation of defense nuclear facilities are properly developed, appropriately implemented, and effectively maintained.  Commitment 4.4 of the IP is to provide initial training for relevant DOE and contractor organizations based on the new DOE technical standard, DOE-STD-1186-2004, Specific Administrative Controls, and to ensure that the training is captured in appropriate contractor and DOE training plans.  The original projected completion date was October 29, 2004.  Due to the extended period of time needed to successfully address and resolve comments on DOE-STD-1186-2004 and develop appropriate training materials based on the final standard, a new due date of May 31, 2005, is appropriate.

 

The initial training session on DOE-STD-1186-2004 occurred on October 21, 2004, at the Energy Training Complex in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Approximately 60 DOE and contractor nuclear safety professionals attended.  Feedback from the training will be incorporated into the training course materials.  These materials will then be provided to DOE sites and incorporated into training plans, which will complete Commitment 4.4.

 

If you have questions, please contact Mr. John S. Shaw, Acting Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health, at (202) 586-6151 or have your staff contact Mr. Richard Black of his staff at (301) 903-0104.

 

Sincerely,

 

Spencer Abraham

 

cc:

L. Brooks, NNSA

P. Golan, EM-1

J. Shaw, EH-1

M. Whitaker, DR- 1