29 Mar (NucNet): An investigation by the US Department of Energy (DOE) has determined there is no evidence that documentation compiled by US Geological Survey (USGS) employees in connection with the Yucca Mountain repository project had been falsified.
In a report published on 27 March 2007 the DOE said “negative attitudes” towards quality assurance requirements reflected in a number of USGS emails were not pervasive throughout the Yucca programme, which is run by the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM).
It said the report’s findings were based on extensive reviews of emails, corrective action programme documentation, and employee records.
The documentation in question related to computer modelling involving water infiltration and climate. While the investigation found no evidence that information associated with the USGS work was falsified or modified, the DOE said some infiltration modelling products on which USGS employees worked did not meet OCRWM’s traceability and transparency requirements.
The DOE said the root cause of this was a failure by OCRWM senior management to establish and hold OCRWM accountable for meeting quality expectations.
OCRWM director Edward Sproat said: “We have developed an aggressive action plan to make necessary improvements, including enhancing the nuclear culture and improving line management ownership and implementation of quality.”
The DOE said it will soon issue a contract for an independent review of OCRWM’s quality assurance processes. This independent review is one of three Mr Sproat told the US Congress he would carry out. The other independent reviews include one focused on engineering processes and one for a review of the Yucca licence application.
Announcing the USGS investigation in March 2005, energy secretary Samuel Bodman said DOE contractors discovered emails written between May 1998 and March 2000 in which a USGS employee indicated that he had fabricated documentation of his work.
