Staff Reports
WC Monitor
1/15/2018
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) added more employees to its emergency preparedness staff after the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) reported last year that a lack of workers was hurting the Savannah River Site’s ability to remain ready for emergencies. The board reported similar findings for liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation (SRR), which also added more workers to its staff.
DNFSB Chairman Joyce Connery stated in a Dec. 22 letter to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz that the board was providing the Department of Energy with information that could aid implementation of an earlier recommendation. The board recommended in September 2014 that DOE take actions to improve emergency readiness across all of its nuclear facilities. "(Emergency readiness) is the last line of defense to prevent public and worker exposure to hazardous materials," the board wrote in the recommendation.
Connery wrote to Moniz last month that although action taken by SRS contractors only pertain to the South Carolina site, "it will be useful in the identification of needed actions at other sites." SRNS reported last week that additional key personnel have been hired for positions within the SRS Emergency Management Organization. To date, nine positions have been filled and two additional professional positions are in the hiring process, said SRNS spokeswoman Barbara Smoak. The hiring actions came after a September report from the safety board stated the contractor had a 70 percent turnover rate over the last five years, including a 40 percent reduction to emergency preparedness staff from 2011 to 2014. Smoak said funding issues, attrition, and retirements led to the reductions in staff, but that the site currently employs more than 200 members in the emergency response group, a fully staffed 24-hour Emergency Operations Center, and a fully staffed four-shift fire department with capabilities to address fire, chemical, and medical emergencies.
The safety board also reported in September that related SRR staffing numbers were not effective in ensuring drill program requirements were met, including the development, updating, and refreshing of drill scenarios. To improve its emergency preparedness, Savannah River Remediation increased from 3.5 full-time emergency preparedness employees to 10. The new hires include several ex-shift operations managers and radiological work planners who are deeply familiar with facility hazards and operations, according to the safety board. SRR took several other actions, including conducting a scenario development training workshop to increase the number of staff who can prepare and revise drill scenarios. SRR spokeswoman Amy Joslin said the contractor has maintained proficiency in its emergency personnel. "To date, SRR has completed more than 50 percent of the items from the assessment, and all of them are on time," Joslin said.
