Staff Writer
The Department of Energy vows more rigorous oversight of Savannah River Site's procurement practices after an Inspector General's audit found a pattern of faulty materials purchases.
The five-month inquiry, which included analysis of selected purchases of items at the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, Tritium Extraction Facility and Interim Salt Processing Project, detailed problems that included the purchase of 9,500 tons of substandard reinforcing steel.
The Energy Department said its Office of Environmental Management will increase scrutiny on the "flow-down" of nuclear quality-assurance programs for lower-tiered vendors who sell products to approved contractors.
The department also plans to increase the number of quality-assurance-oversight personnel from one to five by the end of the 2009 fiscal year and create a "lessons learned coordinator" position to make sure agencies involved with SRS construction programs can learn from past problems and prevent others.
The responses were outlined in a memo from Ines R. Triay, the acting assistant secretary for environmental management, to Rickey R. Haas, the deputy inspector general for audit services.
Even though the site's primary subcontractors were audited and qualified as suitable suppliers, the report said, the quality-assurance standards did not flow down to lower-tier vendors.
The National Nuclear Security Administration, while disputing the auditors' findings of cost impacts and the seriousness of the findings relating to materials installed in the MOX facility, acknowledged that steps need to be taken to improve quality assurance.
William Ostendorff, NNSA's principal deputy administrator, outlined a four-page list of proposed improvements that included better communication, the addition of a senior quality assurance manager and strengthening the MOX contractor's award fee criteria to emphasize quality-assurance compliance.
Auditors also observed that the Energy Department will use massive amounts of Recovery Act stimulus funds to initiate and accelerate ongoing projects.
One nuclear nonproliferation group said Monday that DOE should halt some SRS construction efforts.
Edwin Lyman of Union for Concerned Scientists told the Associated Press that he had no confidence the DOE or its contractors were following safety guidelines.
Reach Rob Pavey at (706) 868-1222, ext. 119, or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com.
