December 2020

Lessons Learned from Assessments of Emergency Management Programs at U.S. Department of Energy Sites

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environment, Safety and Health Assessments, within the Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA), conducted emergency management assessments at three DOE sites during calendar year 2019 and one site during early calendar year 2020. The objective of each assessment was to determine the effectiveness of specific elements of the emergency management programs, primarily through observation of performance during exercises. The lessons learned are based on a collective analysis of assessments at these sites, as well as information from other oversight activities and from previous years’ reports. Three of the assessed sites are under the direction of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and one is under the direction of the Office of Environmental Management. This report focuses on issues affecting multiple sites and/or facilities and identifies commonly observed strengths and weaknesses, best practices, and recommendations, with the goal of promoting organizational learning and improving performance throughout the DOE complex.