During the next 12 months, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Office of the Inspector General plans to review the most serious potential vulnerabilities facing the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board as part of the office’s ongoing duty to examine management and performance of the Energy Department watchdog.
In documents released last week, the NRC IG said challenges include organizational culture, security over internal infrastructure (both cyber and physical), and management of both technical programs and administrative functions at DNFSB. The points were outlined in an Oct. 18 from the NRC IG
The NRC IG evaluates DNFSB management issues under the Reports Consolidation Act of 2000.
“Challenges do not necessarily equate to problems, rather, they should be considered areas of continuing important focus for DNFSB management and staff,” NRC Inspector General Hubert T. Bell said in a letter to DNFSB Chairman Sean Sullivan.
Sullivan himself has recently recommended eliminating the DNFSB by amending the Atomic Energy Act, a suggestion that met with resistance from some of his fellow board members and other issue watchers of the DOE complex.
In announcing its audit plans for the DNFSB in fiscal 2018, the NRC IG said an employee survey from early 2015 registered concerns about board communications. “Specifically, staff want more information about changes, decisions, how decisions are made, and how decisions and changes relate to the organization’s mission,” the NRC IG said.
On the upside, DNFSB staff and managers “believe strongly in the Board’s goals and objectives and are willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond what is normally expected to help DNFSB succeed,” according to the IG.
The DNFSB was created almost 30 years ago to evaluate public health and safety issues at DOE defense nuclear sites. As of the end of fiscal 2017, the DNFSB is composed of five board members and approximately 110 permanent employees and is supported by an annual budget of approximately $31 million.
