DOE Meeting: Lessons Learned from Japan Event

FYI: Website regarding DOE meeting last week on lessons learned from
Japan event as they apply to DOE facilities.


On June 6-7, 2011, the Department of Energy (DOE), Health, Safety and
Security (HSS) Office held a nuclear safety workshop on the preliminary
lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi event for the DOE nuclear
enterprise.  The workshop was held at the Crystal City Marriott in
Arlington, VA. Approximately 185 people were in attendance including
FEMA THD and CBRNE representatives. Deputy Secretary Daniel B. Poneman
provided the keynote address on his perspectives regarding nuclear
safety for the DOE enterprise.  He noted the importance of the HSS
Office and how it reports directly to DOE S-1 (Secretary Steven Chu) and
S-2 (Deputy Secretary Dan Poneman).  Even so, the responsibility for
safety lies in the line organization and the field managers who are both
empowered and accountable.  Headquarters should refrain from "pulling up
the plant every three days to see how the roots are growing."  The
workshop was in response to Safety Bulletin 2011-01, "Events Beyond
Design Safety Basis Analysis," signed by DOE S-1 on March 23, 2011. Of
note to FEMA, the Safety Bulletin directs that managers of DOE nuclear
facilities "Confirm emergency plans, procedures, and equipment are
current, functional, and have been appropriately tested, including plans
and procedures for response to natural phenomena events that could have
site-wide impacts or impacts on regional support infrastructure. Joseph
J. Krol, Jr., Rear Admiral, US Navy (Retired), Associate Administrator
for the Office of Emergency Operations briefed on DOE/NNSA's Office of
Emergency Operations Response to the Nuclear Accident at Fukushima
Daiichi. The second day of the workshop consisted of three concurrent
breakout sessions: 1) DOE Evaluation of/Design for Beyond Design Basis
Events, 2) Natural Phenomena Hazards, and 3) Emergency Management.
Analysis of the affects to and interplay between collocated facilities
after a major disaster was a recurrent theme of the discussions.