Associated Universities, Inc. and
Brookhaven National Laboratory Response
to the U.S. Department of Energy's

Integrated Safety Management Evaluation (ISME) Report

May 1, 1997

In January, 1997, the Office of Oversight within the Office of Environment, Safety and Health of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) began an evaluation of Brookhaven National Laboratory's environment, safety and health (ES&H) management programs.

Over the course of several months, the Oversight team made an in-depth review of ES&H management at Brookhaven, and within the Department of Energy's Brookhaven Group and other relevant offices.

ES&H management was evaluated at a selected sample of BNL facilities: the High Flux Beam Reactor, the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron, the National Synchrotron Light Source and the Chemistry Department. The team's findings and recommendations are contained in an Integrated Safety Management Evaluation of Brookhaven National Laboratory.

In relation to Brookhaven activities, the team's recommendations address the need to strengthen Laboratory management and establish a strong, comprehensive ES&H culture at Brookhaven. BNL has already begun to address the two areas identified in the report as needing immediate action hazard control and supervision for electrical work at an accelerator facility, and training for radiological technicians.

The report also highlights many areas where new initiatives are needed and existing programs must be strengthened. As well, the ISME report acknowledges positive achievements in the areas of BNL's self-assessment program, improvements in the conduct of operations, experiment safety and ES&H revitalization, and a performance-based contracted services selection process that emphasizes ES&H performance.

Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), the nonprofit research management organization that operates BNL, and the Laboratory itself, are prepared to act aggressively on the team's recommendations.

Over the next several months, BNL and AUI intend to take the following initiatives to begin the process of elevating ES&H issues to the same level as the award-winning science for which the Laboratory is world-renowned. These initiatives are intended to fulfill simultaneously the recommendations of the ISME report and an ES&H decision-making review performed by top Laboratory scientific managers together with a representative of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services.

BNL/AUI Initiatives:

• Foremost among AUI and BNL's responses to the ISME report are management changes, announced Monday, April 28. The management appointments are designed to form a team to manage the Laboratory with a new and intense emphasis on integrating environment, safety and health programs. Simultaneously, the AUI Board is continuing to aggressively identify candidates for the Laboratory's directorship.
• A second component of the Laboratory's response comprises three internal reviews already completed or under way: first, the ES&H decision-making review; second, a new "attic to basement" look at the potential environmental impact of the Lab's current operations; and third, an ongoing review of BNL's extensive historical environmental monitoring records.
• AUI will establish an external ES&H Management Improvement Team, which will include representatives from other national laboratories and industry. The team will provide overall guidance on strengthening organizational and management structures and integrating ES&H.
• BNL will revitalize and reconstitute the ES&H Management Advisory Group to include BNL senior managers and will invite representatives from DOE, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to participate. A communications plan will be designed to assure public involvement.
• The Management Advisory Group will review the process used to rank environmental, health and safety programs at BNL, and restructure it as necessary to assure that resources are used to address the highest-priority areas and that no unacceptable risks are unaddressed due to lack of resources.
• BNL senior management will commit to frequent interaction with the Long Island community to ensure that that they are fully aware of and responsive to community concerns in the future.

Within the next 60 days, with input from the groups noted above, BNL will submit a more detailed Implementation Plan, outlining specific actions to be taken, together with associated cost, schedule and management information.

BNL and AUI find the ISME report to be well-founded, presenting a balanced assessment which will be a valuable tool in our move toward an integrated safety management culture at the Laboratory. We appreciate the efforts of the team, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the DOE to ensure the long-term success of BNL and to reestablish the trust of the Long Island community.