DOE To Launch New Safety Culture Review at WTP This Winter

The Department of Energy plans to take a new look later this year at the safety culture at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant after a previous assessment found that concerns persist as to whether workers can safely raise concerns despite years of efforts to make improvements. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz outlined DOE’s new plan to conduct a safety culture assessment at the Hanford vit plant in remarks yesterday at the third in a series of hearing the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has held to examine safety culture across the DOE complex. In the wake of the last assessment, Moniz said he gave an “immediate” charge to the Department’s Office of River Protection and WTP contractor Bechtel National that another review would be performed one year later to see what progress has been made to address concerns. “When the site and the contractor have good performance, they will have a little more time. When there are shortcomings, we’re going to go back and tell them, ‘One year from now we’re going to come back and you’re going to be graded on this,” Moniz said.

In its last assessment, the results of which were released this summer, the then-DOE Office of Health, Safety and Security found a “lack of significant measurable change in employee perceptions” despite efforts by DOE and Bechtel National to make safety culture improvements. Among the assessment’s findings, which DNFSB Chairman Peter Winokur described yesterday as “somewhat sobering” was that only 30 percent of all survey respondents at the Office of River Protection felt that could “openly challenge” decisions made by management.

When asked about the results of the assessment, Moniz replied, “I don’t want to underestimate the progress noted by the group, but they clearly identified major persistent problems.” He added, “I certainly am committed to wanting openness. Those on the front lines, I think, have a lot to offer in terms of how the work should go forward. They have to feel completely open to having the opportunity to express that [and] to have technical differences of opinion resolved in a professional way.” Moniz said that DOE’s plans to conduct a new assessment at the WTP sends “a strong message” to both the Office of River Protection and Bechtel National about the importance of safety culture. “If there is not improvement at this one-year review, there will be a more stern message, to be perfectly honest,” he said.