[CPEO-MEF] RADIATION: Hanford (WA) whistleblowers

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Energy Department, Contractor Faulted for Handling of Whistleblowers

By Charles S. Clark
Government Executive
March 11, 2014

Testimony from fired self-described whistleblowers combined with  
senators' skepticism on Tuesday put the Energy Department on the  
defensive for its handling of safety concerns raised at its Hanford,  
Wash. nuclear waste cleanup project.

Because of ongoing litigation and disagreements over whether two ex- 
contractor employees have proven whistleblower status, Sen. Claire  
McCaskill, D-Mo., took their testimony in the form of an "unofficial"  
roundtable discussion before convening an official hearing at which  
Energy officials declined to be seated alongside representatives of  
the major engineering companies that fired the safety specialists who  
had raised concerns.

"I don't think anyone wants to be a whistleblower," said McCaskill,  
who chairs the contracting subcommittee of the Homeland Security and  
Governmental Affairs Committee. "Reporting your colleagues, who may  
be your friends, for actions that look like waste, fraud, abuse or a  
danger to others, isn't an easy decision for most people. But the job  
that whistleblowers do is tremendously important and valuable. That's  
why, when courageous men and women feel compelled to speak out, we do  
not want to silence them."”


...

For the entire article, see
http://www.govexec.com/oversight/2014/03/energy-department-contractor- 
faulted-handling-whistleblowers/80329/?oref=govexec_today_nl

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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