Energy Dept. Nuke Contractors Fined

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Energy Dept. Nuke Contractors Fined

By MARK JEWELL
.c The Associated Press

  
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - The Energy Department has fined two contractors at 
nuclear sites in Washington and Colorado a total of $123,750 for failing to 
adequately protect workers exposed to radioactivity. 

The agency also cited a contractor at the Idaho National Engineering and 
Environmental Laboratory, but levied no fine. 

Bechtel Hanford, Inc., a contractor at the Hanford reservation in 
south-central Washington, was fined $82,500 over a June 1999 incident in 
which three workers were exposed to airborne radioactivity after they 
unwrapped a ``highly contaminated'' piece of equipment, the DOE said. 

No signs were posted to warn of the hazard, and employees continued to work 
in the area for about 13 days without protective gear, though none appeared 
to have suffered any ill health effects, the DOE said. 

A statement released Thursday by Bechtel Hanford said the company ``takes 
responsibility for this incident ... and agrees with the conclusions from the 
DOE.'' 

The DOE also ordered a fine of $41,250 against Kaiser-Hill Co., LLC, the main 
cleanup contractor at the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant outside 
Denver. 

It involved a February 1999 incident in which an employee performing 
decontamination work received a dose of radioactivity that entered his body 
through a cut on his finger, the DOE said. An investigation revealed 
shortcomings in safety procedures. 

Spokeswoman Greta Thomsen said the company would not contest the fine. ``As a 
result of our corrective actions, we've greatly improved our work controls 
and procedures,'' she said. 

Both fines were reduced because the companies took corrective steps, the DOE 
said. 

International Isotopes Idaho, Inc., a subcontractor at INEEL in southeastern 
Idaho, was cited but not fined after two workers were exposed to a small 
amount of radioactivity while they were replacing ventilation filters last 
July, the DOE said. They were not harmed. Investigators determined the 
subcontractor failed to adequately plan how to protect the workers. 

AP-NY-05-26-00 0108EDT
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