November 7, 2016

Nuclear Safety at Naval Reactors’ Facilities

The Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program provides militarily effective nuclear propulsion plants and ensures their safe, reliable, and long-lived operation.  A joint effort between the Department of Energy and the Department of the Navy, the Program conducts its mission at four federally owned sites operated by Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corporation, a management and operating contractor.  Under Title 50 United States Code Sections 2406 and 2511, the Program’s Director is responsible for the safety of reactors and naval nuclear propulsion plants, and control of the associated radiation and radioactivity.  This responsibility includes prescribing and enforcing standards and regulations for these areas as they affect the environment and the safety and health of workers, operators, and the general public.

In August 2015, the Office of Inspector General received a complaint alleging that the Program had not (1) developed an adequate safety basis for all of its nuclear facilities, (2) updated existing safety basis documents, or (3) followed Department safety regulations when making major modifications to nuclear facilities.  Given the importance of safety associated with the Program’s operations, we initiated this audit to determine whether the Program had adequate safety policies, procedures, and practices in place for nuclear materials and facilities.

Although nothing came to our attention to indicate that the Program lacked adequate safety policies, procedures, and practices for nuclear materials and facilities, we identified an opportunity for the Program to strengthen its safety posture by addressing differences between its policies and procedures and comparable Federal and Department requirements.  To the extent that the Program acknowledged the need to evaluate possible improvements in its policies and procedures, we partially substantiated the second allegation.  We did not substantiate the other two allegations.

Topic: Management & Administration