[DNFSB
LETTERHEAD]
June 1, 2007
The Honorable James A. Rispoli
Assistant Secretary for Environmental
Management
U. S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20585-0113
Dear Mr. Rispoli:
As required by law, the Defense Nuclear Facilities
Safety Board (Board) has been reviewing the design of the Salt Waste Processing
Facility (SWPF) being planned at the Savannah River Site. This facility has been of particular concern
to the Board because of technical shortcomings in the design process; namely, a
lack of adequate geotechnical design requirements, and structural engineering
issues, including those related to structural modeling. The Board noted these deficiencies to the
Department of Energy (DOE) in a letter dated January 10, 2007.
DOE, its contractors, and the Board have been
working together closely to resolve these safety issues in a timely manner and
so minimize potential impacts on the high-level waste program at the site. The Board notes that (1) appropriate
structural engineering design expertise and DOE oversight have been brought to
bear on the project, (2) geotechnical requirements are being finalized, and (3)
changes to the structural design and the analysis methodology have been made. In a letter dated May 11, 2007, DOE states that a mutually agreeable and technically sound path forward
for the SWPF design has been developed, and requests that the Board acknowledge
that the work completed to date addresses its concerns sufficiently to proceed
with the SWPF final analyses and design.
The Board is satisfied with the recent
actions taken by DOE and its contractor to resolve the safety issues identified
in the January 10, 2007, letter for the
preliminary design of the SWPF. As such,
the Board believes DOE’S path forward for the SWPF design is acceptable. Significant work remains to finalize the
design. The Board will continue to work
with DOE to ensure the final design provides adequate safety.
Sincerely,
A. J. Eggenberger
Chairman
c: Mr.
Jeffrey M. Allison
Mr. Mark B. Whitaker,
Jr.