NNSA TO COMPLETE PF-4 ALTERNATE ANALYSIS BY DEC. 16

By ExchangeMonitor

The National Nuclear Security Administration is expected to complete an alternate analysis of seismic risks at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Plutonium Facility by mid-December, Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Poneman said in a letter to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board yesterday. The NNSA has poured millions into upgrading the facility against a massive earthquake, which is believed to potentially occur every 2,000 yeas in Northern New Mexico, and NNSA’s own calculations have lowered the total effective dose equivalent to 23 rem, just under the 25 rem DOE guideline. The DNFSB, however, pressed the agency to take a new look at the modeling techniques used to gauge the risk of a collapse at the facility, and Poneman said the “modal loading analysis” would be completed by Dec. 16. “NNSA believes this alternate analysis will be helpful in understanding further the seismic integrity of the PF-4 facility and providing assurance that all of its structural elements that require updating are identified,” Poneman wrote in his Sept. 3 letter to DNFSB Chairman Peter Winokur, which was released by the Board yesterday.

In his letter, Poneman did slightly hedge on the completion date of the analysis, suggesting that the date could slip. “NNSA recognizes that there may be some challenges to maintaining the schedule due to the developmental nature of the work and the potential need to implement changes due to the independent review process,” he wrote. “If the schedule changes for any reason, NNSA will promptly communicate that to the DNFSB.”

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