Report on summary results of the inspection of issues regarding the scope of the accident investigation of the TRISTAN Fire at the Brookhaven National Laboratory

The subject final report is provided to inform you of our findings and recommendations concerning our review of issues regarding the scope of the accident investigation of a March 31, 1994, fire at the Terrific Reactor Isotope Separator To Analyze Nuclides (TRISTAN) experiment at the Department of Energy (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, New York. The Chicago Operations Office (CH) Manager appointed a Type B Accident Investigation Board (Board) to investigate the fire. In a June 16, 1994, letter to the Inspector General, DOE, the CH Manager requested the Inspector General to look into an allegation by a former Board member that senior Chicago management consciously violated the requirements of DOE Order 5484.1, {open_quotes}Environmental Protection, Safety, And Health Protection Information Reporting Requirements,{close_quotes} in attempting to control the investigation. The former Board member alleged that there was not a clear verbal agreement among the Board members regarding the focus of the scope of the investigation. He said that the Board Chairman wanted to focus on the physical causes of the fire, while he (the former Board member) believed that the Board should focus on the apparent management deficiencies that allowed TRISTAN to operate without a proper safety analysis and in violation of DOE orders for so many years