Uranium Plant Safety Data Erased

May 2, 2000
Reports show the operators of uranium processing plants in Paducah and Piketon,\r\nOhio, erased hundreds of safety and environmental problems\r\nfrom computer records without approval.

The operators of uranium processing plants in Paducah and Piketon, Ohio in 1993, erased hundreds of safety and environmental problems from computer records without proper government approval, a newspaper reported Sunday.

The Department of Energy (DOE) had required plant operators to track their progress toward correcting problems, but more than one-fourth of such records at both plants were deleted without DOE clearance in 1993, according to documents obtained by The Courier-Journal.

So Serious was the breach of regulations by Martin Marietta Corp. and United States Enrichment Corp. (USEC) at the Paducah and Portsmouth gaseous diffusion plants that DOE considered shutting down the plants for safety reasons.

DOE, after a three-year investigation, reconstructed the erased items from computer archives and paper records and concluded the deletions were inappropriate.

DOE also found that nearly half the problems either had not been fixed or should have been referred to other agencies before being erased.

Among the items erased were government and operator findings of a lax attitude toward safety by first-line supervisors, inconsistent investigations of accidents, health and safety violations both management and rank-an-file workers.

USEC, which now leases and operates both plants, was ordered to fix some of the remaining uncorrected problems, but it was not fined, nor were the plants shut down at any time, the newspaper reported.

The Justice Department, however, is investigating the erasures as part of its broader probe into allegations of fraud by contractors at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

USEC spokeswoman told the Courier-Journal that while the safety items were "deleted from the tracking system," they were "never deleted from existence."

In memos to DOE, USEC also has said that it had the right to erase certain items without permission and that the findings it deleted did not have a significant impact on the plants'' safety.

Although DOE in recent months announced its intention to be more open about past practices at the plants that may have endangered workers or the public, the story of the deleted computer records was not disclosed in the agency''s recent reports on special investigations at Paducah.

Defending DOE''s decision, spokesman Walter Perry told the Courier-Journal that his department did not discuss the erasures in the reports because "any safety-significant item" was addressed when the two plants were certified in 1996 by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The recent investigations "were performed on DOE, not USEC, operations," he said.

by Virginia Sutcliffe

About the Author

EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor:  Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.

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