INFORMATION EXCHANGE - DOE OVERSIGHT PROGRAMS

Oversight programs are conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy to review activities carried out by field and contractor organizations. Two of these oversight programs focus on safeguards and security and on safety and health activities. These two programs are independent, but share many common objectives and review techniques. The mutual potential benefit was recognized from an exchange of information on review techniques. The first step in this exchange was the participation by an Office of Security Evaluations (OSE) staff member with the Office of Nuclear Safety (ONS) during their planning, conduct and reporting of a Technical Safety Appraisal (TSA). This paper briefly describes the OSE and ONS programs. It also identifies and analyzes the similarities and differences of the two programs. The purpose of this paper is to provide perspectives on the approach taken, the techniques used and the differences between two oversight programs conducted by the Department of Energy.