KPLU Local News
(2010-10-19)
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In this June 15, 2009 file photo, construction continues on a waste treatment plant at south-central Washington's Hanford nuclear reservation north of Richland, Wash.
(AP Photo/Shannon Dininny, File)
Full Story
Walter Tamosaitis says he lost his management role working on the Hanford vitrification plant after he raised concerns about its design. The Department of Energy's Inspector General was going to investigate but now it's turned that probe over to the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Meanwhile, Tamosaitis says he's moving ahead with a lawsuit against contractors building the plant.
Walter Tamosaitis: "I continue to believe that building over a 12-billion-dollar plant and having to debate issues such as gas retention, criticality, pipeline explosions - that something is basically wrong."
One arm of the federal Department of Energy found that some vit plant workers were reticent to raise concerns about the project. But the report also found the vit plant has a strong nuclear safety culture. The federal Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is also reviewing design and work on the vit plant.
I'm Anna King in Richland.
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