Nuclear whistle-blower backed by watchdog agency; safety board rebukes Energy Secretary Steven Chu

[bananas]

http://www.latimes.com/la-na-adv-nuclear-whistleblower-20110705,0,2510000.story

Nuclear whistle-blower backed by watchdog agency
Engineer Walter Tamosaitis was sidelined by his bosses after raising concerns about the risks of dealing with radioactive waste near Hanford, Wash. A government agency supports him after a yearlong inquiry.

By Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times
July 6, 2011, 5:59 a.m.

<snip>

Now, an independent government watchdog agency, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, has backed up Tamosaitis and issued a rebuke to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, concluding that the safety culture at the $12.3-billion project is "flawed" and that significant risks exist in the plant's design.

The conclusion came after a nearly yearlong investigation, which took testimony from 45 witnesses and reviewed 30,000 documents. It confirmed that Tamosaitis had been "abruptly removed from the project" when he raised technical questions about its design, and that the actions against him had frightened other engineers.

"The board finds that expression of technical dissent affecting safety … were discouraged, if not opposed or rejected without review," safety board Chairman Peter Winokur wrote to Chu on June 9. "As of the writing of this finding, Dr. Tamosaitis sits in a basement cubicle in Richland with no meaningful work."

<snip>

Until he was removed from his job, Tamosaitis, 63, managed a technical staff of as many as 30 in-house scientists and engineers, and an external staff that numbered in the hundreds. He holds a doctorate in systems engineering. He spent 20 years working for DuPont Corp., running chemical plants all over the country, and then another 20 years in the nuclear cleanup industry.

<snip>

[kristopher]

1. See also

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x290749

[saras]

2. K+R

If you're going to try to do the most dangerous thing on the planet, you shouldn't be OBVIOUSLY cheating on safety and persecuting people who try to fix things.

Prison time. LONG prison time. Suppressing legitimate safety complaints is EXTREMELY close to premeditatedly ordering the failure you are risking

[SpoonFed]

3. I think I'd move the placement of the word obviously...

to...

Obviously, you shouldn't be cheating on safety

[proverbialwisdom]

4. K&R.

Although unsung for his integrity and sacrifice, Dr. Tamosaitis exemplifies the best of America. I wish he could be thanked by the public for his work on their behalf.