Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
1/23/2015
After a Department of Energy program assessment found three high-priority issues with the systems engineering program for Oak Ridge cleanup contractor URS-CH2M Oak Ridge, LLC, the contractor is working on a corrective action plan due early next month. The technical assessment, undertaken in 2014, looked at the systems engineering program, which ensures continual operational readiness of safety-related systems performing defense-in-depth functions, according to a report from the DOE Oak Ridge office dated Jan. 15. The report included three “priority one” findings that were deemed of “major significance” because they could be “imminent threats” to worker protection or public safety, according to the report. DOE has asked for a corrective action plan from UCOR by Feb. 6.
DOE already closed one of the findings in December, and UCOR says it is making progress regarding the other two findings. “DOE has worked closely with UCOR to address the findings in the report and we are satisfied with the initial response,” DOE Oak Ridge spokesman Mike Koentop said in a statement. “DOE will review the corrective action plan to verify that the actions taken adequately address the issues and prevent reoccurrence.”
Three Findings Relate to Alarm System
The first finding in the DOE report relates to UCOR not being able to produce documentation related to required validation testing of the Radiation Criticality Accident Alarm System. “Without this information, validation for the technical basis for the RCAAS to perform its credited safety function does not exist,” according to the DOE report. When asked to comment this week, UCOR said in a statement that it has “determined the system currently meets the requirements to perform its credited safety function; however, during the assessment, UCOR was unable to locate the appropriate documentation from 2008. The team will prepare a report to satisfy the requirements, including the documented evidence.”
In the second finding, the calibration methods used by the K-25/K-27 projects for the Radiation Criticality Accident Alarm System did not include all the required elements for a “satisfactory calibration,” according to DOE. UCOR said in response: “When the finding was first identified, UCOR and DOE immediately put a number of compensatory measures in place to ensure workers were protected. The team performed independent testing and 15 out of 15 detector tests concluded that the calibration of the detectors sufficiently ensured the detector modules will alarm. These tests helped confirm that the current safety basis is adequate. The compensatory measures have since been lifted.”
In the third finding, UCOR could not produce a certificate of calibration related to calibration of the RCAAS detectors. That finding was lifted last month after UCOR provided DOE with the appropriate documentation, according to UCOR. UCOR added: “Each year, DOE conducts many assessments on our various programs. UCOR respects that process and has taken a proactive approach to address the findings identified in the SEP report. A detailed corrective action plan will be submitted to address each finding and will be submitted to DOE by February 6.”
