[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 140 (Friday, July 22, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-17807]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: July 22, 1994]
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DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD
Resolution of Potential Conflict of Interest
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (Board) has identified
and resolved a potential conflict of interest situation related to its
contractor, Mr. Nicholas P. Armenis. This Notice satisfies the
requirements of 10 CFR 1706.8(e) with respect to publication in the
Federal Register. Under the Board's Organizational and Consultant
Conflict of Interests Regulations, 10 CFR Part 1706 (OCI Regulations),
an organizational or consultant conflict of interest (OCI) means that
because of other past, present, or future planned activities or
relationships, a contractor or consultant is unable, or potentially
unable, to render impartial assistance or advice to the Board, or the
objectivity of such offeror or contractor in performing work for the
Board is or might be otherwise impaired, or such offeror or contractor
has or would have an unfair competitive advantage. While the OCI
Regulations provide that contracts shall generally not be awarded to an
organization where the Board has determined that an actual or potential
OCI exists and cannot be avoided, the Board may waive this requirement
in certain circumstances.
The Board's mission is to provide advice and recommendations to the
Department of Energy (DOE) regarding public health and safety matters
related to DOE's defense nuclear facilities. This includes the review
and evaluation of the content and implementation of health and safety
standards including DOE orders, rules, and other safety requirements,
relating to the design, construction, operation and decommissioning of
DOE defense nuclear facilities. In late 1991, Congress amended the
Board's enabling Act, broadening the Board's jurisdiction over defense
nuclear facilities to include the assembly, disassembly, and the
testing of nuclear weapons. With this increase in responsibility, the
Board revised its priorities to include reviews of additional
facilities, including, principally the Pantex Plant (Pantex), Nevada
Test Site (NTS), and additional facilities at Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant. The
Board also recognized the need to direct its attention to the
activities of the weapons design laboratories such as Los Alamos
National Laboratory (LANL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
(LLNL), and Sandia National Laboratory (Sandia).
Two matters of immediate concern to the Board are the safety of
ongoing weapons disassembly operations and maintenance of the
capability to safely conduct nuclear testing operations. While the DOE
had been engaged in these activities for decades, significant changes
in the national security posture resulted in shifts in emphasis within
DOE. Unprecedented numbers of simultaneous nuclear weapon retirements
strained DOE's capabilities to develop and implement safe and well-
engineered procedures. A Congressionally-mandated and Presidentially-
extended nuclear testing moratorium removed the primary mechanism
(i.e., an active, ongoing testing program) by which the capability to
execute tests safely was exercised and ensured. At the same time, the
weapons programs at the nuclear weapons laboratories were losing
skilled and experienced personnel due to retirement, downsizing, and
reassignments. This combination of issues required the Board to
increase its attention, and with it the number of associated reviews,
at both Pantex and the NTS. Further, the Board recognized that it
needed individuals with expertise in multiple technical disciplines,
not previously required, to effectively meet the challenges and
responsibilities of its new authority. These technical disciplines
included conventional and nuclear explosive technology and safety,
nuclear materials handling and storage, criticality safety, and nuclear
weapons assembly, disassembly, storage and testing.
While the Board initiated an employee recruitment effort for
individuals with formal training and experience in weapons related
disciplines, it also recognized a need for technical assistance from
outside experts who have direct relevant experience in this area. The
Board identified Mr. Nicholas P. Armenis as an individual with the
requisite knowledge and experience needed to provide the Board with
immediate assistance in the weapons area and entered into an agreement
with him for support services. Under this arrangement, Mr. Armenis
provides technical expertise with respect to the design of nuclear
weapons currently being returned to Pantex for dismantlement, including
historical insight related to specific design and test details of the
weapons systems. In particular, his expertise related to the mechanical
aspects of weapons physics packages is being utilized to ensure the
safe disassembly, handling, and storage of these nuclear weapons
systems. Through the Board's direction, he has participated in reviews
of various weapon dismantlement procedures, observed the complete
dismantlement of selected weapons, and provided valuable insight into
DOE developed operating and inspection standards for these activities.
The Board believes that its activities, supported by Mr. Armenis, have
contributed to the following achievements at Pantex; institution of a
practice whereby the responsible DOE laboratories (LANL, LLNL, Sandia)
review procedures for disassembly of nuclear weapons for identification
of potential safety questions; and improved conduct of operations in
disassembly of nuclear weapons.
The Board has subsequently learned that Mr. Armenis is providing
consulting services to LANL that may create a potential conflict of
interest with his work for the Board. Specifically, Mr. Armenis assists
the LANL staff in compiling complete development reports for weapons
that are presently in the stockpile and in preparing final
documentation for NTS tests that have been executed since none of the
weapons have been thoroughly documented and final NTS device data has
not been compiled. His efforts involve working with LANL engineers in
the proper compilation of data to assure consistency in methods and to
prevent the exclusion of critical details of this historical
reconstruction of information.
The Board reviewed this situation and concluded that, even if the
circumstances could give rise to a potential conflict of interest
situation, it is nonetheless in the best interest of the Government to
have Mr. Armenis continue to provide support to the Board for the
reasons described below. Mr. Armenis possesses a comprehensive
understanding of nuclear weapons assembly and dismantlement procedures
based on his approximately forty years of direct involvement in these
activities. He spent thirty years working at LANL as a design engineer
and supervisor involved in the design and assembly of nuclear devices
from 1948 through 1977. He also assisted in the technical management
and administration of a LANL unit which was responsible for nuclear
design, nuclear device assembly, production specifications liaison with
DOE contractors, and feasibility studies for various weapon programs.
Further, since his departure from LANL, Mr. Armenis has worked as a
consultant for his former employer in this technical area. His efforts
included reviews of NTS test device records to determine document
retention issues and the research of weapon development records. This
research has resulted in written histories of the development of
various stockpile weapons. Therefore, Mr. Armenis's unparalleled blend
of hands-on expertise in the development of assembly and disassembly
procedures of nuclear weapons, coupled with his more recent work in
research and recreation of these activities, makes him uniquely
qualified to assist the Board in its health and safety reviews of
current DOE weapons disassembly efforts.
The Board also examined Mr. Armenis's current financial
relationship with LANL, which includes a vested pension program and
approximately twelve weeks a year of the consulting work described
above, and considered the potential effect it may have on his
objectivity in performing the Board's work. Based on this review, the
Board determined that these relationships should not interfere with his
work for the Board since the pension, and any future increases, is
calculated according to fixed formulas and prior contributions, and the
relative value of his LANL consulting effort is low compared to the
number of hours actually worked by Mr. Armenis each year.
Further, the continued use of Mr. Armenis by the Board is
consistent with the spirit and intent of Board Recommendation 93-6 to
the Secretary of Energy dated December 10, 1993. This recommendation
highlights the need for DOE to retain access to capability and capture
the unique knowledge of individuals who have been engaged for many
years in certain critical defense nuclear activities in order to avoid
future safety problems in these and related areas. The Board's concern
is that while documentation essential to DOE's current weapons
dismantlement program exists on the design and safety aspects of
nuclear weapons, it is also important, for safety reasons, to involve
individuals from the design laboratories of LANL, LLNL, and Sandia.
These individuals should participate in reviews of detailed
dismantlement procedures and specialized procedures and should respond
to problems encountered in the course of weapon dismantlement. The
design individuals from the laboratories most needed in connection with
dismantlement of a specific weapon are those who had been active in the
original design of that weapon.These individuals are believed to
possess information not recorded in documentation, such as reasons for
specific design features and personal knowledge of any problems that
have arisen during design, fabrication, and stockpile life. Therefore,
while the Board believes that DOE must retain and utilize certain
expertise in the weapons area, it also recognizes the value of
acquiring specialized technical support from Mr. Armenis in the
fulfillment of its health and safety responsibilities.
The Board also recognized that it is unlikely that the work being
performed by Mr. Armenis could be satisfactorily performed by anyone
else whose experience and affiliations would not give rise to a
conflict of interest question. That is because the individuals who have
the requisite expertise in this area could only have obtained such
expertise through previous or current employment or consulting
relationship with one or more of the weapons design laboratories. The
pertinent experience of other qualified individuals would therefore
likely raise similar conflicting questions.
Finally, as the Board is required under its OCI Regulations, where
reasonably possible, to initiate measures which attempt to mitigate an
OCI, Mr. Armenis and the Board agreed to the following during contract
performance. Should the effort Mr. Armenis is currently performing for
LANL change from only providing assistance in the historical recreation
of past weapons activities to one of assessing the adequacy or safety
of current weapons disassembly procedures or some other task which
would directly conflict with work he performs for the Board, he will
immediately notify the Board, which then will take further action as
appropriate. Also, the efforts of Mr. Armenis will be overseen by
experienced technical staff of the Board who are able to ensure that
all of his resultant work products are impartial and contain full
support for any findings and recommendations issued thereunder.
Accordingly, on the basis of the determination described above and
pursuant to the applicable provisions of 10 CFR part 1706, the Chairman
of the Board granted a waiver of any conflicts of interests (and the
pertinent provisions of the OCI Regulations) with the Board's contract
with Mr. Nicholas P. Armenis that might arise out of his existing
relationship with LANL.
Dated: July 18, 1994.
Joe Neubeiser,
Acting General Manager.
[FR Doc. 94-17807 Filed 7-21-94; 8:45 am]
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