Additional information on DOE fines

[brackett@bright.net]

The following is the press release from DOE with more details of the
actions (or lack thereof) leading to the fines previously discussed on
Radsafe.  These do not give the impression of a failure on the employees'
parts to follow instructions; it sounds like a lack of planning on the part
of the contractors.  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
May 25, 2000
 NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
April Kaufman, 202/586-5806 


Energy Department Cites Three Contractors for Nuclear Safety Violations 
Contractors Take Action to Ensure Safety Lessons are Implemented

The Department of Energy this week cited contractors at three Energy
Department sites for violating nuclear safety requirements. The contractors
are: Bechtel Hanford, Inc. at the Hanford Site; Kaiser Hill Company, LLC,
management operator of the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site; and
International Isotopes Idaho, Inc., a subcontractor at the Idaho National
Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. Proposed civil penalties totaling
$123,750 accompanied the Preliminary Notices of Violation issued to Bechtel
Hanford and Kaiser Hill.

"The Department of Energy has established clear nuclear safety procedures,
and we expect these procedures to be followed," said Dr. David Michaels,
the Department of Energy's Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and
Health. "Although not every violation of safety procedures results in harm
to workers or the public, we demand that our contractors adhere to the
rules, so that serious accidents can be prevented."

The Preliminary Notices of Violation citing the three contractors concern
events that took place in 1999. The Department of Energy categorizes
violations on a three-step scale on which Level I violations pose the
greatest potential impact to worker or public safety and Level III the least. 

Bechtel Hanford, Inc.
Three Severity Level II violations - $82,500 

The citation to Bechtel Hanford resulted from the unplanned exposure of
three workers to airborne radioactivity in June 1999 at the 105B Transfer
Bay area of the department's Hanford Site in Washington. Workers unwrapped
a highly contaminated filter press without utilizing appropriate
engineering and administrative controls. This created an area with airborne
radioactivity which was not adequately recognized, posted or controlled as
required by safety procedures. Workers continued to periodically access the
Transfer Bay for approximately 13 days without the respiratory protection
that would be appropriate to the radiological hazard. 

Both the contractor's review and the Department of Energy's independent
investigation of the event identified significant deficiencies in
radiological work planning and control. Although the event resulted in no
measurable worker uptake of radioactive contamination, the department
expressed its concern that the multiple breakdowns in the contractor's
radiological work controls put workers at risk and could have resulted in
significant exposures. The violation was classified as a Level II event. 

The base civil penalty for these violations of $165,000 was mitigated by
half, based on Bechtel Hanfords' response, including a thorough
investigation and development of corrective actions that address program
weaknesses as well as the specific causes of the event. 

Kaiser Hill Company, LLC 
One Severity Level II Violation - $41,250

Kaiser Hill was cited for a February 1999 event at the Rocky Flats
Environmental Technology Site outside Denver, Colo., that resulted in a
worker performing decontamination and decommissioning activities receiving
an unplanned, uncontrolled uptake of radioactive material – plutonium and
americium – through a cut on his finger. The violation was classified as a
Level II event. The estimated organ dose of 65 rem that resulted from the
event exceeds the Energy Department's exposure limit of 50 rem. The
department found that Kaiser Hill managers failed to recognize that there
had been a change in the work scope of planned decontamination and
decommissioning activities and, as a result, did not re-evaluate the
hazards and apply appropriate controls. Additionally, managers failed to
follow operating procedures by allowing a lone worker to dismantle a large
glove box. 

The Department of Energy has proposed a civil penalty in the amount of
$41,250. The department reduced the potential fine of $55,000 in light of
Kaiser Hill's evaluation and use of new engineered approaches to minimize
workers' hands-on activities during decontamination and decommissioning
activities. 

International Isotopes Idaho, Inc. 
Severity Level III violation, No Civil Penalty

International Isotopes Idaho, a for-profit private company acting as a
subcontractor to the management and operations contractor of the Department
of Energy's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, was
cited for deficiencies in work planning and work control. These
deficiencies were evident in a July 1999 event when workers were replacing
hot cell exhaust ventilation filters at Test Reactor Area Building 632.
Specifically, the contractor failed to ensure, as required by the
laboratory's procedures, that work activity documents were developed in a
coordinated manner and failed to validate these documents before putting
them into use. As a result of deficient operating documents, two
maintenance workers were contaminated with radioactive material. 

The potential health consequences of the radiation exposure to the two
workers were minimal, and no fine was assessed. Rather, the department
issued the Level III Preliminary Notice of Violation to emphasize the need
for proper control of work-related activities and ensure effective
corrective actions are taken. 

The Preliminary Notices of Violation require each company to take
appropriate and effective corrective actions. Bechtel Hanford, Inc. and
Kaiser Hill Company, LLC have examined problems and taken all necessary
corrective actions to prevent problems from recurring. International
Isotopes Idaho, Inc.'s corrective action response is due by June 19, 2000. 

The notices will become final in 30 days unless the companies provide
sufficient justification and information to rebut the findings of the
enforcement actions. 

The Preliminary Notices of Violation are issued under the Price-Anderson
Act, which allows the Department of Energy to fine contractors for safety
violations. Copies of the violations are available on the Internet at:
http://tis.eh.doe.gov/enforce. 


******************************
  Elizabeth M. Brackett, CHP 
     Sr. Health Physicist     
     MJW Corporation, Inc.       
       (330) 644-3757        
  mailto:brackett@bright.net 
******************************
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