Tag Archives: Nuclear bombs

BOMB PLANT NEWS | DOE Inspector General Issues Report Focuses on Questionable SRS Contractor Hiring Practices at (Mixed Oxide) MOX plant

Bomb Plant NewsViolating Contractors not Named, Penalties not Levied

{Note – Report makes weak suggestions for corrective action but I’m betting the focus is on poor Latino construction workers, which is a shame.

In its rush to build the costly SRS MOX plant, the unnamed MOX Contactor (Shaw Areva MOX Services) was found to be in violation of employment law and told by NNSA in a letter:  “The letter also notified the contractor that some of the subcontractors working on the Site were not complying with statutory requirements to verify that employees are U.S. citizens or are otherwise legally entitled to employment in the United States.”  (in Overview, page 2)} Tom Clements

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Text of e-mailed message from IG’s office:

Inspection of Employment Verification at Savannah River Site
INS-0-10-01

November 10, 2009

Our inspection found that not all Site subcontractors verified employment eligibility in accordance with Federal requirements. This condition allowed the possibility that individuals who are not eligible to work in the United States (U.S.) could be employed by Department subcontractors and potentially access the Site. We did not identify any weakness regarding unauthorized employees having access to the Site.

We specifically found that four subcontractors contacted during our inspection failed to utilize the I-9 Form to determine worker eligibility. Subsequent to our review, two of the four subcontractors stated that, as a result of our review, they have started using the I-9 Form. We also found that twenty-two percent (136) of the 600 I-9 Forms obtained from our sample of 21 Site subcontractors were missing key elements, including the subcontractor’s affirmation that the identity documentation was reviewed and appeared authentic; and, the employee’s signature to affirm that the employment information was correct; and, 16 subcontractor employees from a judgmental sample had social security numbers that may have been used by other individuals in the general population. We referred this matter to the Social Security Administration for further review.

In June 2008, an amendment to Executive Order 12989 required Federal contractors verify employee’s eligibility with an electronic employment verification system (E-Verify). E-Verify would provide immediate feedback to the employer concerning the eligibility status of the new hire including the validity of identification documents. We noted during our review that three subcontractors utilize the E-verify system to validate the authenticity of the employee’s information. One subcontractor indicated that if a discrepancy is noted by E-Verify, the employee is allowed three business days to address the discrepancy. In addition, we determined that a number of subcontractors accessed other internet-based databases which identify discrepancies regarding a social security number, date of birth, current address, and passports. We asked subcontractor officials who did not utilize the E-Verify or similar systems what indicators they used to determine if the documentation provided by an employee was authentic. In most cases, these officials told us that they conducted a visual inspection of the documentation for authentication. These officials also informed us that if an employee were to provide a fake social security card, the subcontractor officials would not be able to confirm its authenticity. We noted that the E-Verify system would identify a concern with the documentation. The increased use of E-Verify by the Site subcontractors will help to ensure that the identity documentation for employment belongs to the individual presenting them.

We recommend that the Manager, Savannah River Operations Office: Ensure contractors establish a method to notify existing and future subcontractors to comply with federal requirements related to employment verification; and, develop a process to notify contractors of the E-Verify system.

To view the full report, click on the following link:
http://www.ig.energy.gov/documents/INS-O-10-01.pdf

For more information, contact Felicia Jones –  felicia.jones@hq.doe.gov

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Filed under Environmental, Nuclear bombs, Nuclear materials, Nuclear waste, Nuclear weapons, Obama Administration, The Obama Administration

Bomb Plant News | SRS Clean Up – Not Build Up : Speak out with us TOMORROW in N. Augusta!

Tuesday, August 18th  

The bombLocation: North Augusta, SC, at the N. Augusta Municipal Building, 100 Georgia Ave.

We want clean up –not build up!
 
“Nuclear weapons are inherently destructive of the environment in their possession, manufacture and use. Global and national security lie in U.S. leadership that works towards disarmament, environmental restoration and nuclear waste management.”  Georgia WAND

Now is the time! Your voice is needed!
 
You can and should let DOE know how you feel – So hop on the bus with Georgia WAND as we meet up in N. Augusta with Friends of the Earth and other groups to hold a press conference and then we will attend and speak out at the DOE meeting on the future mission of Savannah River Site, a US nuclear weapons production facility on the Georgia/South Carolina border.
 
12:30PM   Press Conference in N. Augusta, Georgia WAND, Friends of the Earth, etc other groups will be gathering. (Please bring brown bag lunch to eat prior to mtg as time allows) Signs welcome!!

1:00Pm – 5:00PM  Dept of Energy (DOE) meeting on the future missions of SRS >> Public testimony accepted. We hope everyone will speak out and get their voice heard.

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Notice | Savannah River Site | Citizens Advisory Board

 BOMB PLANT NEWS! 

Savannah River Site

Savannah River Site

Do you want DOE at the to add you to a new e-mail list (as part of an effort by them to do better outreach to the concerned public about future use of the site)?

If you been following the vague DOE proposals for “energy parks” at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina or at Piketon in Ohio, you will know that I have been pushing DOE for not having a clear “energy park” policy and for failing to involve all stakeholders and the public in the decision-making process involving future use of the sites.  At SRS, amongst other things, the SRS boosters still have their eyes set on a reprocessing “park,” which DOE officials have urged them to pursue, and at Piketon a consortium of Duke and Areva has announced the aim is to build an EPR reactor at the site. The public has so far been cut out of any planning with DOE on these projects or any other possible uses of the sites.

(I’m attending the SRS Citizens Advisory Board this afternoon and all day Tuesday and will have my ears open to anything said about the “energy park” idea.)

In response to my concerns, a DOE Assistant General Counsel recently wrote to me and said that “my office and DOE,’s Savannah River Operations Office (Operations Office) are in active discussion, and the Operations Office is currently working to establish a process that will provide transparency and meaningful public participation in relation to plans to utilize land at the Site as an energy park and with regard to relevant NEPA procedures.”

As part of what I assume is the above transparency effort mentioned above, DOE-SRS e-mailed me last Friday and said that “We are trying to expand our notification to include you and other non government organizations interested in SRS.”  The e-mail went on to ask if I would help them pull together a list of NGO contacts, which would want to receive information from DOE about things at SRS.  I don’t know if DOE is making this effort at Piketon or other sites but what they do here may be indicative of how DOE handles the “energy park” approach at other sites.

While I don’t want to be doing DOE’s work, I do think it important that any groups, which want to be informed of things happening at SRS, particularly about planning for any “energy park,” be on this list. They should have been doing a better job at outreach in the past but I am willing to help them get better in working with environmental stakeholders and not just with contractors and local special interest groups.  We need to let them see that NGOs a re concerned about what happens at the site for any “energy park” proposals so I hope many of you will want to be on their list.

Thus, if you want your organization to be on DOE’s notification list for SRS activities, please affirm your interest to me and I’ll pass your name, organization name and e-mail address on to the SRS Office of External Affairs. 

 For more information contact Tom Clements@ tel. 803-834-3084/ cell 803-240-7268/ tomclements329@cs.com.

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