The Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA) this week said it is investigating an incident in which a worker at the Separations Process Research Unit decommissioning and demolition project suffered symptoms of heat stress.
The Aug. 15 event raises questions about possible “deficiencies” by D&D contractor URS Energy & Construction in adhering to DOE regulations for the safety of department contractors and their employees, Steven Simonson, director of the EA Office of Enforcement, said in a Dec. 2 letter to Bobby Smith, project manager for the SPRU Disposition Project.
The employee was conducting D&D operations in building G2 at the New York state site when he experienced symptoms of heat stress. He exited the structure and removed his protective outfit, and did not suffer heat stress.
Simonson said the probe would include an on-site visit to SPRU and interviews with contract workers at SPRU, along with a request for documents.
URS Energy & Construction , now a subsidiary of AECOM, is carrying out D&D operations on the H2 and G2 buildings for the retired facility at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory. The facilities in the 1950s were used for study of chemical processes for separating plutonium from irradiated uranium.
The contractor “is aware of the DOE Office of Enforcement letter,” Keith Wood, URS Energy & Construction SPRU project spokesman, said by email. “Upon receipt of the letter, a review of our safety program is underway to check for potential deficiencies related to heat stress. We will work closely with the Office of Enforcement to ensure our heat stress program is effective at protecting employees. If programmatic deficiencies are identified, they will be addressed expeditiously. URS Energy & Construction will maintain our commitment to the highest standards of safety for workers at the SPRU project."
Separately, the DOE Office of Environmental Management on Tuesday announced that the last of seven waste storage tanks had been removed from the SPRU site. The tank was transported to a separate low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. The tanks were used to hold radioactive waste in the 1950s. They had been empty since the 1960s, according to an EM press release.
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