[ RadSafe ] New Energy secretary hears lab concerns
Sandy Perle
sandyfl at earthlink.net
Sun Feb 27 00:19:30 CET 2005
Index:
New Energy secretary hears lab concerns
CA State regulators signal approval of improvements to nuclear plant
==============================
New Energy secretary hears lab concerns
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) - The nation's new Energy Department secretary
has vowed to protect benefits of Los Alamos National Laboratory
employees as the federal government seeks a contractor to run the
nuclear weapons lab.
"The people are going to be treated fairly," said Energy Secretary
Samuel Bodman Friday during his first visit to the northern New
Mexico facility. "We are very much aware ... of the concerns of the
employees here, the rightful concerns."
The Energy Department issued a draft request for proposals to operate
the lab, throwing the management contract open for competition for
the first time in the lab's 60-plus-year history.
Los Alamos has been managed by the University of California since its
creation as a top-secret World War II project to develop the atomic
bomb. A series of management failures and security problems led then-
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to announce in April 2003 that the
contract would be put up for bid. UC's contract expires in September.
The impact of a potential switch in managers on employee benefits has
been a source of concern within the lab and among state leaders and
New Mexico's congressional delegation.
The National Nuclear Security Administration's Source Evaluation
Board, in a document released last week, ensured that the successful
bidder would have to provide a total compensation package for lab
workers "substantially equivalent" to the benefits and pensions now
provided by UC.
Bodman replaced Abraham on Jan. 31 after Abraham resigned. Bodman
visited Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque on Thursday, then
went to Los Alamos the next day to answer employees' questions at an
all-hands meeting.
One 30-year Los Alamos veteran told him that many of his colleagues
in their 50s and 60s are planning to leave the lab "at the peak of
their careers." He told Bodman the decision will hurt the lab and the
country "and it all has to do with bad management."
Lab director Pete Nanos has been criticized by some scientists for
the way he handled concerns last summer over safety and security
failures by shutting the lab down.
Los Alamos shut down virtually all its divisions for review in July
after two computer disks believed to contain classified information
were reported missing and an intern suffered an eye injury from a
laser. The shutdown came shortly before Abraham ordered a halt to the
use of such computer disks at all DOE facilities until they could be
accounted for.
Reviews are under way into the cost of Los Alamos' shutdown and what
happened and why.
"This has to end up with lessons learned," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-
N.M., who accompanied Bodman. "It wasn't a trivial matter or a series
of trivial situations."
Bodman told reporters after the employee meeting that unease about
the contract competition is natural, but that "everything is going to
be fine; I am convinced of that."
Bodman also said he's in awe of Los Alamos' history and the work
being done there, and is committed to advancing its scientific
mission, viewing it as "a sacred trust."
----------------
CA State regulators signal approval of improvements to nuclear plant
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - State regulators have cleared the way for
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to charge its customers $706 million to
renovate the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant.
PG&E wants to replace eight steam generators at the San Luis Obispo-
area plant. But the plan has drawn fire from environmentalists and
consumer advocates, who question spending hundreds of millions on a
$5.8 billion facility just 20 years old.
On Thursday, the California Public Utilities Commission unanimously
agreed that PG&E's customers will probably be responsible for the
costs of the work. The bill could run as high as $815 million if PG&E
can convince commissioners that added charges are necessary.
Commissioners did not vote on the proposed renovations themselves and
probably won't until a full environmental review of the project is
completed later this year.
But PUC President Michael Peevey praised the plant for generating
power without releasing climate-changing gases into the atmosphere.
Diablo Canyon's critics said the commission had shown it was willing
to move forward with the renovations despite having no environmental
review.
"Sounds like a go-ahead to me," said Jane Swanson, a spokeswoman for
the Mothers for Peace.
The utility has already signed a $209 million contract with
Westinghouse to replace the plant's generators.
Without replacements, PG&E would have to close the plant in 2013 or
2014, company spokesman Jeff Lewis said. That would force the utility
to find 2,260 megawatts of substitute energy elsewhere, or roughly 20
percent of the power PG&E delivers to customers.
The Diablo Canyon plant has been controversial throughout its life.
It lies 2 1/2 miles from an earthquake fault, and its cooling water
has been blamed for harming local sea life.
More recently, some residents have started to view it as a tempting
target for terrorists.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle
Senior Vice President, Technical Operations
Global Dosimetry Solutions, Inc.
2652 McGaw Avenue
Irvine, CA 92614
Tel: (949) 296-2306 / (888) 437-1714 Extension 2306
Fax:(949) 296-1144
Global Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com/
Personal Website: http://sandy-travels.com/
More information about the radsafe
mailing list