SECRETARY OF ENERGY ADVISORY BOARD TASK FORCE WILL REVIEW NATIONAL IGNITION FACILITY: RICHARDSON APPOINTS INDEPENDENT PANEL OF EXPERTS

Energy Secretary Bill Richardson today announced the appointment of a task force of the independent Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) to review the National Ignition Facility -- currently under construction at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) -- to be chaired by Dr. John McTague, formerly the vice president for technical affairs of the Ford Motor Company. The National Ignition Facility Laser System Task Force, which will hold its first meeting on Monday and Tuesday, November 15-16, 1999, at the lab in Livermore, Calif., has been asked to provide advice on the options to complete the facility, recommend a technical course of action and deliver its recommendation as quickly as possible.

Secretary Richardson ordered this review as part of a broader, six-point response to management problems, engineering and construction issues, and projected cost over-runs at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), an experimental laser facility that is considered to be an important element in the long-term success of the DOE's Stockpile Stewardship Program to maintain the safety, security and reliability of America's existing nuclear deterrent without underground testing.

"My confidence in the feasibility and potential for success of the National Ignition Facility has been bolstered by the willingness of John McTague and the distinguished group of scientific, technical, engineering and construction professionals who have agreed to serve on our Laser System Task Force," said Secretary Richardson. "Their commitment to helping the department through the problems and complexities of building and installing the world's most powerful laser bodes well for its future. I look forward to receiving the assessment and advice on how to put this project back on track."

The Secretary of Energy Advisory Board is the highest level external advisory board in the Department of Energy and reports directly to the Secretary of Energy. It was chartered in January 1990, to provide the Secretary with timely, balanced, external advice on issues of importance to the Secretary.

The members of SEAB, appointed by the energy secretary for two-year terms, offer a diverse and extensive reservoir of independent technical knowledge, policy understanding, and management expertise. Members include two Nobel Laureates, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and senior representatives from academia, business, public & environmental groups, labor, and Federal/State government. SEAB members are called on by the Secretary for their individual advice and have testified before Congress.

The SEAB is chartered and operates under the auspices of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) of 1972. Its members serve on a pro bono basis and are selected based on their professional experience and expertise in areas related to DOE's research, development, energy, and national defense responsibilities. SEAB's charter also permits the Secretary to form subcommittees to undertake specific studies and to provide information and recommendations to the Board for its consideration.

The NIF Laser System Task Force will review the assembly and installation and the ability within the proposed approach to achieve the cleanliness requirements necessary for the laser's operation. The taskforce will consider, at minimum:

• The engineering viability of the proposed assembly and activation method;
  
• The assembly and installation cleanliness protocols;
  
• The management structure; and
  
• The adequacy of the cost estimating methodology.

The task force will welcome input from the general public during time periods set aside on the agenda for its public meetings, either orally by sign-up or in writing.

When he was made aware of the management and technical problems in September 1999, Secretary Richardson directed the DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to contract out for major assembly and integration work, and instructed the lab to seek out the best in industry with a proven track record of success in construction of similarly large, technically complex facilities.

Also, to ensure that U.S. taxpayers do not foot the costs for the errors made by the laboratory's management or DOE's Office of Defense Programs, Secretary Richardson directed the laboratory and program office to re-prioritize budget funding and reallocate dollars, people and other resources to absorb the additional costs.

Funding issues with the NIF project are a significant disruption -- a result of substandard contract performance. Secretary Richardson announced that at least $2 million of the $5.6 million would be withheld from the ‘at risk’ program performance fee under DOE's contract with the University of California, which manages and operates the Livermore laboratory for the department. Richardson indicated that, based upon the final results of this and other reviews currently in progress, the Department might exercise its option to withhold a greater amount.

In addition, Richardson placed NIF on the department's Project Management Watch List' under the supervision of Deputy Secretary T.J.Glauthier, requiring monthly DOE headquarters review and compliance to other, more strict reporting requirements.

Finally, Secretary Richardson ordered the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to conduct a rigorous management review and to take action against any personnel who kept these issues from the Department of Energy -- as late as early June 1999 when he visited the laboratory -- and was informed that NIF was "on time and on budget." The department is simultaneously conducting its own review of these issues and is also cooperating with a review by the Congress of the problems and issues involved.

The National Ignition Facility is part of the science-based Stockpile Stewardship Program; it is one of many reasons for President Clinton's decision to commit the U.S. to support of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Once completed, NIF will be the world's most powerful laser, with 50 times more energy than any existing laser. Consisting of up to 192 laser beams, the NIF will produce, for the first time in a laboratory setting, conditions of matter close to those that exist at the center of stars and inside detonating nuclear weapons. This ability can be used directly for physics experiments to increase understanding of the performance of nuclear weapons without further need for nuclear testing. Experiments at NIF may also demonstrate the feasibility of fusion as an economically-viable energy source. NIF would also provide substantial opportunities for advances in science and technology including laboratory astrophysics, optics, and materials.

The original NIF schedule called for the project to be completed at the end of FY 2003 at a cost of $1.2 Billion. The conventional facilities are about 70% complete now and should be completed by the end of FY 2001. Recent data and experience along with analysis of related engineering experience has demonstrated that the assembly and installation of the laser system must be done in a cleaner and more rigorous and detailed manner than had been originally planned. Although the change in approach is considered essential for the NIF project to achieve its planned performance level, the new assembly and installation process is expected to increase the project's overall costs by perhaps several hundred million dollars.

More information about the National Ignition Facility and the U.S. Department of Energy's Stockpile Stewardship Program can be found on the World Wide Web; the URL address is http://www.dp.doe.gov.

A list of the NIF Laser System Task Force Members and biographical information is attached to this news release. Reporters interested in participating in a teleconference on Wednesday, November 10 (1:30 p.m.PST/4:30 p.m. EST) with SEAB Executive Director Betsy Mullins to discuss Secretary Richardson's appointment of this task force should call the DOE media contacts referenced above.