[DOE LETTERHEAD]

 

May 18, 2006

 

The Honorable A. J. Eggenberger

Chairman

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board

625 Indiana Avenue, N.W.

Suite 700

Washington, D.C. 20004-2901

 

Dear Mr. Chairman:

 

Your April 24, 2006, letter forwarded comments on the Methodology for Determining Repackaging Needs and Prioritization of Repackaging Nuclear Materials, and asked for a response within 30 days.  On April 21, 2006, The Task Manager for recommendation 2005-1 received via e-mail the Board staffs comments on the draft Department of Energy Manual M441.1-1, Nuclear Material Packaging Manual.  These comments were also received formally via the May 1, 2006, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board letter.  Both the methodology document and the manual are deliverables in the 2005-1, Implementation Plan.  Therefore, both sets of comments need to be addressed by the same personnel.  We will address the comments on the manual first.

 

Adequately addressing both sets of comments is important, and will require more than thirty days for the methodology document The Secretary has asked me to forward our responses to the methodology document comments by July 21, 2006.

 

Sincerely,

 

C. Russell H. Shearer

Acting Assistant Secretary for

Environment, Safety and Health

 

cc:   M. Whitaker, DR-1

C. Lagdon, US-1

J. McConnell, NA-1