The construction quality at the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment Plant was satisfactory for the areas reviewed in an on-site visit in September, but some concerns remain, the Department of Energy Office of Enterprise Assessments said last week. The office reviews construction quality at the vitrification plant each quarter, varying the focus of each assessment. The latest review found pressure testing of piping, electrical cable pulling, structural concrete, and welding inspections satisfactory. But it raised continuing issues with electrical construction, plus a potential conflict of interest with Bechtel National’s dual roles as the electrical authority on the project and also the electrical designer and contractor.
As the electrical authority, Bechtel determines if its own design and construction methods comply with the National Electrical Code. “This defeats the intent of the AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) function,” the Office of Enterprise Assessments report said. Similarly, when Underwriters Laboratories came on-site to review equipment shipped to the site prior to receiving Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory review, Underwriters Laboratories was acting as a Bechtel subcontractor, the report said. UL based its evaluation on data supplied by Bechtel rather than generating its own data. Elsewhere at Hanford ,the AHJ function is provided by the Hanford Site Electrical Safety Committee. The committee has representatives from each of the other major Hanford contractors and representatives from the DOE Richland Operations Office and Office of River Protection, but no Bechtel representative. If a question is raised on code compliance or interpretation, it is evaluated by the committee.
