Energy Dept. Faults Paducah Contractors

[Susan Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

Energy Dept. Faults Paducah Contractors 
By Joby Warrick 
Washington Post Staff Writer 
Thursday, October 21, 1999; Page A2 

The Energy Department, ending the first phase of its investigation of
the troubled Paducah, Ky., uranium plant, faulted contractors yesterday
for failing to properly warn the public about radioactive hazards,
including "relatively high" levels of plutonium in ditches outside the
plant.

Investigators zeroing in on the plant's current environmental and safety
problems also pointed to the "theoretical" risk of an accidental nuclear
chain reaction at the plant, citing large quantities of
"uncharacterized" radioactive material stored there.

The problems were among dozens uncovered in the first of two department
probes of current and past hazards at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion
Plant, one of two U.S.-owned facilities that produce enriched uranium.
Yesterday's report gives the plant's managers 30 days to come up with a
plan for addressing problems ranging from lax safeguards to radioactive
seepage from a half-mile-long pile of contaminated scrap metal.

"We have concerns about exposure, but we don't think any of them reach
the level of imminent danger," said David Michaels, assistant energy
secretary for environment, safety and health.

Michaels promised quick action to eliminate any risk of a
"criticality"-an inadvertent nuclear reaction similar to last month's
serious accident at the Tokaimura uranium plant in Japan. Agency
officials said the chances of such a reaction were remote.

Energy Secretary Bill Richardson launched investigations at Paducah in
August after reports of worker exposure to and sloppy handling of
radioactive waste. Preliminary findings released last month faulted the
agency and its contractors for weaknesses in identifying and cleaning up
contaminants-hazards that included highly radioactive plutonium.

Yesterday's report contained the first results from independent
laboratory tests that confirmed the presence of plutonium and other
radioactive metals in ground water as well as in ditches and streams
outside the plant fence. The agency's tests found new areas of off-site
contamination and also documented "relatively high levels" of plutonium,
thorium and cesium in two ditches that feed a tributary of the Ohio
River.

The contaminated areas had not been properly controlled or marked with
signs, the report said. Plutonium can cause cancer if inhaled in
minuscule amounts.

Although plant officials discovered off-site plutonium contamination in
the early 1990s, most public reports listed plutonium levels at near
zero. The discrepancy has been a sore point with lawmakers who have
grilled former contractors as part of their own Paducah probe.

Rep. Thomas J. Bliley Jr. (R-Va.), chairman of the House Commerce
Committee, expressed dismay yesterday after one former contractor,
CH2MHill, insisted in a letter that the plutonium problem was contained
within the plant's security boundaries.

"For many years the Paducah community has been plagued by misinformation
and outright deceit," Bliley said. He vowed to press for "full
accountability and the highest level of safety" for Paducah workers and
residents.

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Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director
Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee, Inc.
136 South Illinois Avenue, Suite 208
Oak Ridge, Tennessee  37830
Phone (423) 483-1333; Fax (423) 482-6572; E-mail loc@icx.net
VISIT OUR UPDATED WEB SITE:  http://www.local-oversight.org
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