nuclear-news

Dubious ‘safety culture’ at Tennessee Nuclear Weapons Facility

Workers at Tennessee Nuclear Facility Say Safety Takes Backseat to Deadlines Project on Government Oversight (POGO) By MIA STEINLE, 17 Aug 12 Some workers who are designing and building a major nuclear weapons facility for the government say they feel pressure to put deadlines ahead of safety,  according to a recent Department of Energy report

“Interviewees indicated that schedule pressures can inhibit reporting of concerns,” the report said. “The heavy emphasis on performance metrics and cost, often at the perceived expense of understanding and developing the right technology, has created issues for the completion of the project,” the report said.

The June report focused on part of the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., that is intended to consolidate operations involving bomb-grade uranium for the nation’s nuclear arsenal. When completed, the Uranium Processing Facility will be used for the assembly, disassembly and storage of bomb components and of bomb-grade uranium, according to its website.

The report was posted on a government web site just days after  a major security breach at Y-12 last month, when three protesters, including an 82-year-old nun, broke into a high-security area of Y-12. The anti-nuclear activists bypassed security guards and several fences to enter the complex, the Knoxville News-Sentinel reported. The new uranium facility is being built in the same high-security area.

A team of external safety culture experts evaluating the ongoing design and construction work for the Department of Energy interviewed and surveyed more than 800 people involved in the project.  Those interviewed are employed by the government or by private companies under contract to the government……
The report said there are “negative perceptions around feeling free to challenge management decisions” at the site.   It added that there is “a lack of ownership and accountability for safety” among contractors on the project.

“There is the expectation [among the contractors] that someone else or something else will take care of accountability,” the report said.  http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2012/08/workers-at-tennessee-nuclear-facility-say-safety-takes-backseat-to-deadlines.html

August 18, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA