Energy Department Probes Pantex Safety Issues

The U.S. Energy Department has begun an investigation into safety conditions at its Pantex nuclear weapons facility near Amarillo, Texas, after workers complained anonymously that some staffers were working 72- and 84-hour weeks in poor conditions, the Los Angeles Times reported today (see GSN, Nov. 30).

The investigation was spurred by a five-page letter sent by employees to contractor BWX Technologies, which runs the plant’s activities, including the disassembly of U.S. nuclear warheads.

The letter says engineers are required to work up to 84 hours in seven-day work weeks and technicians must work 72 hours a week with just one day off, the Times reported (Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 13).

“While your brief visits and bulletized briefings may have provided you a general sense of comfort regarding the operations at Pantex, please know that your employees are very concerned with the existing work environment and the potential for significant, life-threatening events to occur if significant changes in operational policies are not made,” the Nov. 7 letter says (Jim McBride, Amarillo Globe, Nov. 21).

“Senior management is distracted, losing sight of the overall picture and circumstances,” the letter adds.  “The consequences [of an accident] are almost too awful to speak.”

An Energy Department safety board mentioned some of the same problems in a report issued in August, the Times reported.

The report confirmed that BWXT was assigning workers to 12-hour shifts, six days a week, the maximum work week allowed.

In addition, the board found that “leaks through facility structure left puddles of water in several nuclear facility interlocks and bays and equipment rooms that support nuclear operations.”

The employee letter also complained about the facility conditions.

“Look around the plant.  You will find leaking roofs, crumbling buildings, waist-high weed-infested landscapes, barricades and safety tape that makes this once-proud plant look like a crime scene.”

Plant officials have disputed the employees’ charges.

“BWXT Pantex takes seriously any employee concerns about safe operations, and the company is currently comparing the specific concerns expressed in the letter with the reality of its day-to-day work,” according to plant General Manager Dan Swaim.  “The company strongly disagrees with the writers’ viewpoint that successful production negatively impacts worker safety” (Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times).

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