Re: US Energy Dep't cites nuclear lab over safety

["Mike Carstensen" <CarstensenM@edaw.com>]

ruth wrote:
Most of the people doing the technical work are contractors, not direct
employees of DOE.  The National Labs are "government owned, company
operated" (GOCOs) and are no more interdependent with the DOE IG's Office
than the citizens of, say, Albuquerque are with the Albuquerque police
department or municipal court.

Mike replies:

The idea that a contractor is not interdependent on DOE because
they are an autonomous business interest is not necessarily a sound
one.  It has been my (albeit limited) experience that contractors
are very receptive to the requests of the organization that holds the
purse strings.  This is not to say that there is intentional misconduct
or anything else actually going on.  I am simply observing that the
contractor is certainly dependent on the client (in this case DOE).

MC

************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html