Some National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) sites – the Lawrence Livermore and Sandia national laboratories, along the Nevada National Security Site – have implemented successful nuclear criticality safety programs, while others – the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Y-12 National Security Complex, and the Savannah River Site – need to improve their programs, according to NNSA metrics for fiscal 2015.
An April 19 letter from Department of Energy officials to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) included metrics tables on nuclear criticality safety programs, which concern the prevention of uncontrolled nuclear reactions. Earlier this year, the DNFSB allowed the submission of a metrics table instead of a full report on criticality safety at defense nuclear facilities.
The fiscal 2015 metrics table, the first annual report under the revised reporting criteria, said that overall, nuclear criticality safety programs at Lawrence Livermore, the Nevada site, and Sandia met or exceeded expectations, while those of Los Alamos, the Pantex Plant, Y-12, and Savannah River were adequate but needed improvement. No DOE laboratories were identified as not meeting expectations. Y-12 had 70 level 5 criticality safety infractions, the least severe category, the report said. Forty-four of those were minor noncompliances. In the same fiscal year, Los Alamos had 20.
Meanwhile, Y-12 in fiscal 2015 had five contractor assessments on criticality safety that yielded seven findings, or observations generating a corrective action plan, as well as seven federal assessments with two findings, the report said. Los Alamos had four contractor assessments with 16 findings, and three federal assessments with five findings; Savannah River had 30 contractor assessments with 16 findings, and 22 federal assessments with four findings. The report also noted that Sandia had seven contractor and four federal assessments but that none of those yielded any findings.
