Hanford Contractor Earns Excellent But Mixed Rating Technical Performance Balances Environmental, Other Problems

Battelle-Northwest, which manages the Pacific Northwest Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy, again received an excellent rating for its work last year at the Hanford nuclear reservation.

Despite Battelle’s strong showing for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, its performance was not flawless, said John Wagoner, the Energy Department’s manager at Hanford.

It was the best scientific and technical performance in the lab’s history, Wagoner wrote in a four-page letter to Battelle director Bill Madia.

The rating was made public Tuesday.

Without that strong performance, the lab “would have received a lower rating due to the weaknesses exhibited in environment, safety and health … and conduct of operations areas,” Wagoner said.

Wagoner also criticized the lab for failing to spin off technology developed in the government laboratory to private industry to help build a stronger economy in the TriCities.

The lab must “raise the bar” on its contributions to economic competitiveness, Wagoner said.

Battelle’s annual rating has been excellent since 1981.

The company has a fixed-fee contract through 1997, and, unlike Westinghouse Hanford Co., earns no bonus for good work.

The Energy Department paid Battelle $9 million in 1994. The 1995 contract fee is under negotiation, said company spokesman Jerry Holloway.

Madia said the appraisal “points out areas where we must improve. We recognize the need for improvement in these areas.”

Among the positive things noted in the Energy Department’s review were the “world-class” level of work from the Environmental and Molecular Sciences Laboratory staff.

The lab’s subsurface science program was rated the highest among national labs in research quality and productivity.

The Global Climate Change Group at the lab earned the Director’s Award of Excellence for its work on atmospheric radiation measurement.

Problems at the lab include a lack of discipline among personnel to ensure quality performance and some weaknesses in environmental, safety and health programs.