The Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday approved the nominations of three people to serve on the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety board.
The committee approved the nomination of new member Jessie Hill Roberson to take the place of outgoing member A.J. Eggenberger. The panel also OK'd the renominations of Peter Winokur and Joseph Bader to continue as board members, with Winokur taking Eggenberger's place as chairman, according to a board spokesman.
Board member John Mansfield will continue as vice chairman, the spokesman told InsideDefense.com.
According to the board's Web site, Congress created the panel "in 1988 as an independent oversight organization within the Executive Branch charged with providing advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Energy 'to ensure adequate protection of public health and safety'" at the Energy Department's defense nuclear facilities. Moreover:
Broadly speaking, the Board is responsible for independent oversight of all activities affecting nuclear safety within DOE's nuclear weapons complex. Prior to the end of the nuclear arms race, the nuclear weapons complex concentrated on the design, manufacture, test, and maintenance of the nation's nuclear arsenal. The complex is now engaged in cleanup of contaminated sites and facilities, disassembly of nuclear weapons to achieve arms control objectives, maintenance of the smaller stockpile, and storage and disposition of excess fissionable materials.