May 2012

Review of the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management Assessment of the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office Oversight of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant Criticality Safety Program

This report provides the results of an independent review of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Headquarters Office of Environmental Management scheduled assessment of the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office.  The independent review was performed January 31 – February 2, 2012, by the DOE Office of Safety and Emergency Management Evaluations, which is within the DOE Office of Health, Safety and Security.   The Office of Environmental Management's assessment focused on the project office's Nuclear Criticality Safety organization and its oversight of the criticality safety program at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.  The Office of Safety and Emergency Management Evaluations shadowed the assessment to evaluate the effectiveness of Environmental Management's line oversight assessment and gain insights into the current status of the project office's oversight of criticality safety and the Portsmouth criticality safety program.