Hanford Panel Frustrated By Slow Release Of Data
The U.S. Energy Department is still too slow in releasing documents about past Hanford nuclear reservation operations, an official overseeing a study of radiation exposure said Thursday.
The criticism came from the chairwoman of the panel directing the Hanford Dose Reconstruction Project, a study of how much radiation reached the public.
“I’m concerned about the time it takes to declassify Hanford records,” Mary Lou Blazek said at a news conference after the group’s final meeting Thursday. “This was an ongoing battle for us and an area of deep frustration.”
For decades, Hanford was a secretive site where plutonium was made for nuclear weapons. In recent years the government has pledged to release many classified documents detailing past operations, but the effort has been slowed by budget cuts.
“We are moving aggressively in light of budget cuts to streamline the process and better review and declassify documents,” said Paul Kruger of the Energy Department’s local office.
Federal officials must review all documents before releasing them to make sure they do not inadvertently release information that is still classified.
Blazek said about 300 more documents are needed to complete the radiation study.
“The time for secrets is long over,” she said.
The study began in 1988 and by late next year hopes to be able to provide estimated radiation doses for the estimated 2 million people who lived downwind of Hanford from the 1940s to the 1970s.
More than 20,000 people have filed lawsuits contending their health was damaged by Hanford radiation releases, both accidental and deliberate.
The panel headed by Blazek - scientists, politicians, Indians and members of the public who have directed the project since its inception - has voted to go out of existence Dec. 31, she said.
Control of the study will shift to the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
It probably will be late next year before individual radiation doses can be calculated, officials said. The study is developing a questionnaire for people to fill out in order to receive estimates of their exposure.
“CDC is committed to complete the task,” said Mike Donnelley, a CDC representative.
Since 1988, $27 million has been spent on the study. Officials could not estimate how much more will be required.
A major task remaining is to design the information-gathering process that will be used to estimate individual doses, said Stephen West of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, who appeared at the news conference after sitting in on the panel’s last session.
To ensure accurate estimates, people will have to fill out lengthy questionnaires detailing their lifestyle habits as long as 50 years ago, West said. They likely will be asked such questions as how much milk they drank, how much fish they ate and when they lived in the region.