Hanford complaint filed

KENNEWICK – The Energy Department is investigating another complaint claiming a contractor at the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site interfered with an investigation into the design and safety of a massive plant under construction to treat nuclear waste.

The complaint is the latest in a string of whistle-blowers and other claims related to the design and safety of the $12.3 billion waste treatment plant at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

In a letter Friday to contractors handling the project, the Energy Department asserted again that “no form of interference” into reviews of the plant is acceptable.

“Please ensure that your managers, employees and subcontractors understand that it is their responsibility to provide unfettered and timely access to information and staff as requested,” wrote Scott Samuelson, manager of the department’s Office of River Protection in Richland.

The letters come a day after the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board conducted its second public hearing in 18 months in Washington state about the plant, which has long been considered the cornerstone of cleanup at the highly contaminated Hanford site.

The one-of-a-kind plant is being built to convert the waste into glasslike logs for permanent disposal underground, but it has faced numerous technical problems, delays and cost increases.

Most recently, several workers raised safety concerns, and two have filed suit as whistle-blowers, saying they were targeted for reprisals for raising questions.

Donna Busche, who filed one of the whistle-blower lawsuits, also filed the latest complaint after learning that a manager at URS Corp. sought to keep her from participating in the review unless her supervisor was present.

URS is a subcontractor to Bechtel National Inc., the company building the plant, and provides expertise in the plant’s eventual operation. Busche works for URS as the manager of environmental and nuclear safety for the plant.