Nuclear Safety: The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board's First Year of Operation
RCED-91-54
Published: Feb 05, 1991. Publicly Released: Apr 25, 1991.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the accomplishments, operations, and problems faced by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, focusing on: (1) the Board's mission to improve safety and health conditions at the Department of Energy's (DOE) defense nuclear facilities; (2) problems encountered in hiring technical staff; and (3) changes needed to enhance the Board's independence and credibility.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board | To ensure that the Safety Board conducts its reviews independently from DOE and to ensure that all significant Safety Board concerns about health and safety at DOE defense nuclear facilities are made known to the public, the Chairman of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board should direct that operating procedures be expeditiously established to ensure that all Safety Board activities are conducted in a manner that is clearly independent from DOE. Those procedures should include criteria for determining when safety and health concerns related to DOE defense nuclear facilities will result in the Safety Board's issuing formal recommendations to the Secretary of Energy. In developing such criteria, the Safety Board should recognize the importance of allowing the public to be aware of the Board's activities and of significant safety and health issues at DOE defense nuclear facilities. |
The Safety Board and GAO disagree on the definition of "independence." The Safety Board believes that it is operating independently of DOE and does not intend to change its operational methods.
|
| Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board | The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board should establish procedures to review all hiring and contractual arrangements to determine the potential for conflicts of interest and, where potential conflicts are possible, disqualify the contractor or consultant or make a determination that the award of the contract is in the best interest of the United States and include mitigating provisions in the contract. |
Procedures have been established.
|
| Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board | The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board should establish procedures to notify the public of all situations where potential conflict-of-interest situations are unavoidable and the hiring of a contractor or consultant with a potential conflict of interest is in the best interest of the government. |
Procedures have been established.
|
| Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board | The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board should establish procedures to document all reviews of safety and health issues at DOE defense nuclear facilities, including Board meetings, discussions and agreements with DOE, and analyses leading to recommendations to the Secretary of Energy. |
Procedures have been established.
|
| Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board | To ensure that the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board efficiently focuses its resources on the most critical safety issues, the Chairman should direct the preparation of a strategic plan for identifying future work areas. The plan should also delineate organizational structure and work-force staffing strategies that identify the kind, number, and pay levels for all scientific and technical positions required for future work. |
The Safety Board included the strategic plan in its annual report to Congress.
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