Lockheed Unit Fined $1 Mln in Nuclear Plant Incidents

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Lockheed Unit Fined $1 Mln in Nuclear Plant Incidents
  
Washington, Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Lockheed 
Martin Energy Systems has been fined $1.05 million for nuclear safety 
violations at its Y-12 Oak Ridge, Tennessee, facility, the U.S. 
Department of Energy said. 

The fine is the largest since 1994, when the department's Nuclear 
Safety Enforcement Program began. Congress gave the department the 
power to impose civil penalties for nuclear safety violations, said 
April Kaufman, a spokeswoman for the Energy Department. 

``Numerous examples of violations occurred between July 1998 and 
December 1999,'' said Kaufman. 

The department began investigating the problem in January after a 
series of safety violations over a period of years culminated in an 
explosion of sodium potassium liquid metal last December that injured 
11 workers, the government said. 

Among the failures were weak welding and improper inspections of a 
system used to create enriched uranium, the department said in a 
statement. 

The department also found violations in Lockheed's failure to 
identify and deal with explosive hazards and properly train workers 
to handle them. 

Corrective Action 

Lockheed ``holds itself accountable for the performance issues,'' and 
``corrective actions are on track for completion in the near 
future,'' said Bob Van Hook, president of Lockheed Martin Energy 
Systems. 

The company said there was never any release or threat of release of 
radioactive or hazardous material as a result of these incidents. It 
has reduced layers of management to improve operations. 

Lockheed can escape the fine if it provides enough information in 
writing to rebut the penalty before it becomes final Sept. 23. 
Kaufman said of the more than 40 penalties assessed under the program 
since 1994, no company has challenged the department's findings. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
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Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
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