Friday, September 17, 1999
Energy secretary apologizes to Paducah workers
BY JAMES PRICHARD
The Associated Press
PADUCAH, Ky. — Energy Secretary Bill Richardson apologized to current and former workers of a federal uranium-enrichment plant Thursday night, saying the government wasn't forthcoming about the possibility of exposure to toxic plutonium at the plant.
“On behalf of the United States government, I am here to say I'm sorry,” he said during a town hall meeting to discuss health, safety and environmental concerns surrounding the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant.
Mr. Richardson then told the audience of about 300 people what the Clinton administration wanted to do about it. He reiterated an announcement made earlier in the day, that the White House will propose legislation to establish a pilot program for past and present workers at the plant who developed cancer through job exposure to radioactive contaminants.
He estimated that the pro gram would cost about $20 million.
Mr. Richardson also announced a proposed $21.8 million supplemental budget amendment to pay for expanded worker medical monitoring, radiation-exposure assessments and accelerated cleanup at the Paducah plant and at uranium-enrichment plants in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Piketon, Ohio.
The proposals will be submitted to Congress within a few weeks.
Mr. Richardson repeatedly peppered his 90-minute discourse and question-and-answer session with phrases such as “the buck stops here” and “this is a promise to pay.” He said all of the DOE contractors ever involved in the plant also will be held accountable for any wrongdoing uncovered.
The plant started processing uranium for use in nuclear warheads in 1952. In 1964, it switched to enriching uranium for use in nuclear power plants.
The Energy Department got out of the business in 1993 and now focuses its efforts on the environmental restoration of the western Kentucky plant site and the management of waste generated there.
The United States Enrichment Corp., a publicly traded company created by Congress, now processes uranium at the plant.
Last month, the DOE started looking into allegations contained in a workers' sealed federal lawsuit that former plant operators falsified documents regarding the disposal of contaminated waste and records involving environmental contamination at the plant.
A team of 23 agency investigators has inspected the site, reviewed documents and interviewed plant workers. The team said Wednesday its preliminary findings indicate that while there is room for improvement at the site, there are no serious problems that pose a health or safety risk to current workers or the general public.
While many audience members expressed appreciation to Mr. Richardson for being upfront and accepting responsibility for what happened, some questioned why it took so long. Questions about health, safety and environmental issues involving the plant have circulated for more than 30 years.
“I'm glad that you're going to do this because the voices have been crying out for years,” said Nita Bean Rose of Murray.
Ms. Rose said her father, Charles Arvil Bean, worked as a welder at the Paducah plant for 25 years and died of acute leukemia in 1978. David Michaels, the department's assistant secretary for environment, safety and health, said the DOE will do its best for families such as Ms. Rose's.
“The best we can do is provide your family with some kind of compensation for you and your family,” he said.
During an emotional moment of the meeting, Mr. Richardson presented his agency's highest honor, The Gold Award, to Clara Harding, whose husband, Joe, died of cancer at age 58 in 1980 after a nine-year battle to bring to light the then-dangerous working conditions at the plant.
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