[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 195 (Wednesday, October 8, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 52527]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-26633]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
DOE Implementation Plan for Recommendation 97-1 of the Defense
Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Safe Storage of Uranium-233
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board published
Recommendation 97-1, concerning the safe storage of uranium-233, on
March 11, 1997 (62 FR 11160). Under section 315(e) of the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2286d(e), the Department of Energy
must transmit an implementation plan on Recommendation 97-1 to the
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board after acceptance of the
Recommendation by the Secretary. The Department's implementation plan
was sent to the Safety Board on September 29, 1997, and is available
for review in the Department of Energy Public Reading Rooms.
ADDRESSES: Send comments, data, views, or arguments concerning the
implementation plan to: Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue,
SW, Washington, D.C. 20585.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John Tseng, Director of the
Nuclear Materials Stabilization Task Group in the Office of
Environmental Management, Department of Energy, 1000 Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20585.
Issued in Washington, D.C., on October 2, 1997.
Mark B. Whitaker, Jr.,
Departmental Representative to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety
Board.
September 29, 1997.
The Honorable John T. Conway,
Chairman, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, 625 Indiana
Avenue, N.W., Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20004
Dear Mr. Chairman: We are pleased to forward the Department's
implementation plan for addressing the issues raised in the Defense
Nuclear Facilities Safety Board's Recommendation 97-1 concerning the
safe storage of uranium-233 material. The Department assessed the
safety issues associated with the recommendation in terms of the
history of uranium-233. The primary safety issue being addressed
with the implementation plan is the lack of material
characterization and uncertainty of storage conditions for uranium-
233.
As noted in my April 25, 1997, letter to you, the Department is
using a systems engineering approach to manage the implementation of
this recommendation. Recognizing that it will take time to perform
the systems engineering efforts, we are concurrently taking near-
term actions as described in the implementation plan to further
assess material characterization and storage conditions and make
necessary changes to mitigate interim identified risks.
The implementation plan was prepared by a Task Team reporting to
the Assistant Secretaries for Defense Programs and Environmental
Management, in coordination with other affected Headquarters and
Field offices. Mr. John Tseng, Director of the Nuclear Materials
Stabilization Task Group in the Office of Environmental Management,
is the responsible manager for implementation of the plan. He can be
reached at (202) 586-0383.
Sincerely,
Federico Pena
[FR Doc. 97-26633 Filed 10-7-97; 8:45 am]
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