U.S. will join suit against Paducah plant's former operator

[Susan L Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

Unfortunately, the unstated subtext to this story is that DOE did not

properly oversee its contractor's work--for years.  Congress has

repeatedly criticized the agency for such failures (all the while

cutting their budgets so they would have fewer personnel to accomplish

effective oversight).  Is the government going to end up suing itself?



--Susan Gawarecki



U.S. will join suit against Paducah plant's former operator



By JAMES MALONE and JAMES R. CARROLL

The Courier-Journal



PADUCAH, Ky. Concluding a nearly four-year investigation, the Department

of Justice said yesterday that it will join a lawsuit that claims the

government made millions of dollars in overpayments to a former Paducah

uranium plant contractor. 



The lawsuit filed in 1999 on behalf of three current or former plant

workers also alleged that the contractor, Lockheed Martin, made false

statements, mishandled the storage and disposal of hazardous waste,

introduced contaminated metals into interstate commerce and exposed

unknowing workers to radiation during its 14 years of operating the

plant. 



"I'm thrilled to death" about the Justice Department's decision, said

Garland "Bud" Jenkins, 60, of Benton, one of the plaintiffs in the

so-called whistle-blower case. Jenkins said his goal has always been to

expose the truth about what went on behind the scenes at the former

weapons plant.



But a Lockheed Martin spokes woman expressed disappointment at the

decision. 



"We regret that the Department of Justice has decided to intervene in

the case," said spokeswoman Gail Rymer. She said Lockheed Martin

believes the allegations are without merit and plans to vigorously

defend itself. 



The Justice Department said it will act as a co-plaintiff for the

allegations that hazardous wastes were mishandled. However, the

government said it will not intervene in the other claims made by the

plaintiffs. 



The Justice Department said it will file an amended complaint within 90

days. Department spokesman Charles Miller declined to speculate on how

long it might take to resolve the case. 



Joe Egan, a Washington lawyer who filed the suit on behalf of the

workers and the Natural Resources Defense Council, estimated the case

could take up to three years. 



The lawsuit said Lockheed Martin collected $328 million in fees, awards

and bonuses during the 14 years it or its corporate predecessor operated

the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, from 1984 to 1998, for the

Department of Energy. 



Filed originally under seal, the suit raised a series of startling

claims. It alleged that a secret campaign to reprocess spent fuel from

nuclear weapons reactors at the Paducah plant released hazardous

radioactive waste--including plutonium and neptunium--into areas around

the plant and that such material was improperly stored and disposed of

in landfills. 



DURING ITS extensive investigation of the claims, the Justice

Department, the FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency excavated

large trenches to analyze what was in them, used ground-penetrating

radar to search for buried drums, interviewed scores of former workers

and seized computer hard drives. Investigators have said they also

examined millions of pages of records.



Federal authorities also empanelled a grand jury in Louisville to look

into the improper use and disposal of a hazardous degreasing solvent

that leaked around the plant. 



Rymer said the Justice Department told the company that the grand jury

investigation ended earlier this spring, and that no charges were filed.

Justice Department authorities have refused to comment on the grand jury

investigation. 



The decision to intervene came after the government had sought 14

continuances of the lawsuit amid several rounds of private talks with

the company. Egan said the intervention "helps a lot. It provides a very

hefty additional set of resources, both in terms of financial resources

and human resources." 



Because the Justice Department reviewed tens of thousands of documents

before reaching its decision, the whistle - blowers will have "access to

documentation we never dreamed we would have," he said. 



The statute under which the case was filed allows triple damages.

Ultimately, damages could exceed $1 billion, Egan said in a telephone

interview. 



Under federal law, the government would be entitled to 75 percent of

what is recovered. 



Legal experts familiar with whistle - blower lawsuits say 95 percent of

them are settled before trial. 



Jim Moorman of Taxpayers Against Fraud, a Washington advocacy group that

supports whistle-blowers and is supported by their donations, said the

potential damages thrust the Paducah case into the top tier of such

suits. 



"It's interesting because it's not only about money," said Moorman. "It

also means that unsafe environmental conditions will have to be

resolved." 



SOON AFTER the allegations in the lawsuit became public, then-Energy

Secretary Bill Richardson issued a public apology and launched an

internal investigation that covered the 50-year operating history of the

Paducah plant, where uranium was processed for nuclear weapons use and

is now processed for nuclear power reactors. 



The lawsuit's claims also helped spur a federal program that compensates

nuclear plant workers suffering from some types of cancers. 



Rep. Henry Waxman of California, the ranking Democrat on the House

Government Reform Committee, praised the Justice Department's

intervention decision. 



"This brings us one step closer to justice," said Waxman, who in January

sent a letter to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham asking why the Energy

Department hadn't intervened. 



Waxman said he was "concerned about the extent of pressure that Lockheed

Martin may bring to bear on DOE's decision making." Lockheed Martin gave

more than $1 million to Republican candidates in 2002. 



-- 

.....................................................

Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director

Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee

102 Robertsville Road, Suite B, Oak Ridge, TN 37830

Toll free 888-770-3073 ~ www.local-oversight.org

.....................................................

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