WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Energy (DOE) today notified UT-Battelle, LLC and Fluor Hanford Inc. that it will fine the companies $110,000 and $206,250, respectively, for violations of the department’s nuclear safety requirements.  UT-Battelle, LLC is the department’s management and operating contractor for Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, Tenn.  Fluor Hanford Inc. is a prime contractor at DOE’s Hanford site near Richland, Wash.

“We want our contractors to identify and address safety issues before they become more serious problems,” John Shaw, Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health said.  “Our goal is to have work conducted in a manner that protects workers, the public and the environment.”

The Preliminary Notice of Violation (PNOV) issued to UT-Battelle today cited failure to comply with established radioactive material inventory limits at multiple storage facilities, some of a long-standing nature.  Once UT-Battelle recognized that multiple facilities with radioactive material inventory problems existed, they expanded their internal investigation and took comprehensive corrective actions.

The PNOV issued to Fluor Hanford Inc. today cites a series of Technical Safety Requirement (TSR) violations that occurred at the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) over a two-year period between September 2003 and July 2005 and several recent and more significant criticality safety issues at PFP which are representative of longstanding criticality safety deficiencies dating back to 1996.  The PNOV also cites an event at K-West Basin in November 2004 where several personnel received low-level radiological exposure. Personnel were working outside the scope of the planned work activity and moved contaminated tools which were required to, but did not, have a radiological survey prior to movement.

DOE recognized the positive steps being taken by UT-Battelle senior management to improve nuclear safety performance and reduced a higher fine to the current amount, $110,000.  In assessing the fine issued to Fluor Hanford Inc., DOE mitigated a portion of the penalty in recognition of the aggressive corrective actions taken regarding the TSR violations at PFP and the K-Basin event.  However, the portion of the fine associated with the criticality safety issues at PFP was increased due to the longstanding nature of the problem.  

The Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 1988 authorizes the Energy Department to undertake regulatory actions against contractors for violations of its nuclear safety requirements.   The enforcement program encourages DOE contractors to identify and correct nuclear safety deficiencies at an early stage, before they contribute to or result in more serious events.

Additional details on these and other enforcement actions are available on the Internet at http://www.hss.energy.gov/enforce/.