Hanford Nuclear Reservation inquiry criticizes contractors in whistleblower firing

[cascadiance]

Source: The Oregonian (Associated Press)



SPOKANE — The U.S. Department of Energy's inspector general on Monday said it could not determine if a whistleblower on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation was fired for raising safety concerns because two contractors failed to provide all the documents needed in the investigation.

Donna Busche was fired in February after raising questions about the safety of the unfinished Waste Treatment Plant at Hanford, the nation's most polluted nuclear site.

Busche was a manager for URS Energy and Construction Inc., which is a subcontractor of Bechtel National, Inc. in building the $13 billion plant.

The inspector general said URS and Bechtel would not provide several thousand emails and other documents necessary to determine if Busche was unfairly fired.
...

Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2014/10/hanford_nuclear_reservation_in.html

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Another example of how the drive to privatize even the most critical of commons (like protecting our safety from nuclear radiation from places like Hanford) is causing more problems, and those who want to blow the whistle are being pushed aside by a government that appears to more answerable to the private interests that control them than to us.

[cstanleytech]

1. You would think since they refuse to corporate with the investigation that there would be a default

judgment supporting Busche and her claim.

[cascadiance]

2. I like your "pun" of "corporate" here!

Not sure if that was the intent or not, but it seems appropriately placed. Yes, it does seem that when there isn't enough information on a case, the little guy or gal is the one that pays the price.

[cstanleytech]

3. LOL was posting from my nexus 7 that my brothers got me for my birthday. nt

[Tikki]

4. There is little 'hew and cry' from the community living and working near Hanford.

NUKE feeds their families.

Until there is a significant protest to what's going on up there, the contractors will
continue to continue on doing whatever they want, take however long as they wish to
take and with what little safety measures they can get away with.

The 'government' rules are dictated by the contractors, big to small, in that order and the workers
from scientists to laborers in that order get little to no attention.

You do know, Hanford is literally out in the middle of nowhere. You might not know it's there unless you know it's there.

Insane amounts of money has flowed from the taxpayers to the contractors for over five decades. Keeping the gravy train
going is the concern...safety, somewhere down the list.


The Tikkis...children of the radiant glow.

[cascadiance]

5. Coincidentally, I'm just now watching the last episode of WGN's Manhattan from the weekend

And how corrupt it was postulated and damaging to many people's lives our developing the A-Bomb was then. So it doesn't surprise me that this could be part of the same mess that that series was trying to portray from that the time the bomb was built.

I've also seen some of the earlier episodes of FSTV's Pirate TV series airing talks in Seattle from people studying the Hanford issues too.

[cascadiance]

6. In related news the EPA is just now threatening the Department of Energy with fines for Hanford

Saying that this department is way behind in its commitment to clean up the site. Of course the Department of Energy is noting that the Congress is not giving it enough funding to finish the job too.

http://www.boiseweekly.com/CityDesk/archives/2014/10/19/epa-threatens-fines-for-hanford-radioactive-waste-near-columbia-river