Pantex, feds vow improvement
Top Energy Department and Pantex officials vowed Thursday to improve worker-management relations after reports of poor working conditions, cronyism and workers’ fears of retaliation for reporting safety issues at the nuclear weapons plant.
Members of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, a watchdog agency that monitors safety at U.S. nuclear weapons facilities, grilled top National Nuclear Security Administration and senior Pantex officials Thursday at Amarillo Civic Center about plant safety and employee concerns and plant infrastructure.
Pantex, located about 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, dismantles retired nuclear bombs and modifies weapons for the U.S. atomic arsenal.
In 2011, the nuclear safety board learned about an incident when warhead disassembly work proceeded beyond authorized operations, a serious safety issue that also sparked an internal investigation by contractor B&W Pantex. As part of the internal probe, the contractor surveyed personnel in its nuclear explosives safety division. According to the survey, “eight out of 10 employees believe it is a career-limiting move to raise concerns.”
More at http://amarillo.com/news/2013-03-14/pantex-government-officials-vow-improve-plant-conditions .