DePrep.org
Title
Departmental Representative Home Page
Description
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (Board) is an independent organization within the executive branch chartered with the responsibility of providing recommendations and advice to the President and the Secretary of Energy regarding public health and safety issues at Department of Energy (Department) defense nuclear facilities. In operation since in October 1989, the Board reviews and evaluates the content and implementation of health and safety standards, as well as other requirements, relating to the design, construction, operation, and decommissioning of the Department's defense nuclear facilities.
The Board consists of five Board members appointed by the President for staggered five year terms. At present, three Board members are serving and two positions on the Board is open. The Board is supported by almost 100 technical and administrative staff personnel and an annual budget of $22 million. The Board's enabling legislation authorizes a staff of up to 150 personnel. The Board headquarters is located in Washington D.C., at 625 Indiana Avenue NW. Ten Board staff personnel are currently on two-three year rotational assignment at the following DOE sites: Los Alamos, Livermore, Pantex, Hanford, Oak Ridge, and Savannah River.
Formal written recommendations to the Secretary of Energy are the most powerful mechanism used by the Board for advising the Department with regard to safety. Since its inception the Board has issued 48 recommendations, an average of 3 per year. For each recommendation, the Secretary must provide a response which accepts or rejects the recommendation and, if accepted, provide an implementation plan to resolve the acknowledged issues. To date, the Secretary of Energy has accepted every Board recommendation, though three were accepted with conditions or exceptions described in the Department's acceptance letters. Of the 48 recommendations issued, as of February 2005, 14 are open and the Department continues work on the associated implementation plans. The Board's trend since 1995 has been toward a reduced reliance on formal recommendations and an increased use of discussions with the Department's executive management, public hearings, and written correspondence.
Contact
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- Washington DC
- United States 20585
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- +1.2025861034
