nuclear-news

Leaked memo shows incompetence of company doing Hanford nuclear waste cleanup

“This memo details exhaustive and disturbing evidence of why Bechtel should be terminated from this project and subject to an independent investigation.”

Bechtel Incompetent To Complete Hanford Nuclear Waste Cleanup: DOE Memo, Forbes, Jeff McMahon, 29 Aug 12,  More than 10 years into the job, Bechtel National Inc. has been described as incompetent to complete the $12.2 billion nuclear waste treatment plant at Hanford, Wa., the nation’s largest radioactive waste site, according to an internal Department of Energy memo.

In the Aug. 23 memo, the DOE official responsible for supervising engineering at the facility, Gary Brunson, calls for Bechtel to be immediately removed as the design agent for the novel Waste Treatment Plant (WTP), which was supposed to begin operation last year.

What’s Inside The Suspect Nuclear Waste Tank At Hanford? Jeff McMahon Brunson lists 34 “brief examples” of issues in which Bechtel’s design advice was factually incorrect, technically flawed, unsafe, or more costly than alternatives.

“The number and significance of these issues indicate that Bechtel
National Inc. is not competent to complete their role as the Design
Authority for the WTP, and it is questionable that BNI can provide a
contract-compliant design as Design Agent,” Brunson writes in the
memo.

The memo was acquired by the watchdog group Hanford Challenge and
released to the media yesterday. “The leaked memo puts the Waste
Treatment Plant’s woes into sharp relief,” said Tom Carpenter, the
executive director of Hanford Challenge. “This memo details exhaustive
and disturbing evidence of why Bechtel should be terminated from this
project and subject to an independent investigation.”…
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2012/08/29/bechtel-incompetent-to-complete-hanford-nuclear-waste-cleanup-doe-memo/

August 30, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes