Thursday, February 19, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

YUCCA MOUNTAIN: DOE knew of hazards from dust

Letter to Reid says workers weren't required to wear masks until 1996

WASHINGTON -- Energy Department officials were aware of potentially hazardous silica at Yucca Mountain from early studies but did not enforce health protections until after workers had excavated a large portion of the site, according to a letter made public Wednesday.

Margaret Chu, director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, made the admission in a letter sent Tuesday to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

In the letter, which Reid made public Wednesday, Chu said workers were given dust masks to shield them from inhalation of airborne silica particles when mining operations at the proposed nuclear waste repository began in 1992.

However, Chu said, use of the masks was not mandatory.

"After 1996, more advanced respiratory protection equipment was provided and its use was enforced," Chu said.

Other protections and health screenings were added subsequently, she said.

Department of Energy officials estimate that between 1,200 and 1,500 individuals were involved in carving a five-mile exploratory tunnel into Yucca Mountain or participating in experiments to determine its suitability for nuclear waste storage.

The department has initiated a screening program to identify how many workers may have been exposed to toxic levels of silica or other cancer-causing fibers.

Chu sent Reid the letter in the wake of reports that some former Yucca Mountain workers have contracted silicosis and other lung ailments they believe stemmed from their work at the site.

Former workers said masks were ill-fitting and of little use against the clouds of dusts kicked up during drilling, which was conducted "dry" so as not to interfere with experiments.

Reid urged officials at the Department of Labor to intervene in the controversy, saying, "On its own, DOE has failed to protect these workers."

In a letter prepared to be sent today, Reid asked Labor Secretary Elaine Chao to determine whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or the Mine Safety and Health Administration have authority to oversee worker issues at the Yucca site.

"Yucca Mountain workers have contracted a fatal illness because DOE wasn't concerned with safety precautions," Reid said in a prepared statement.

Chu's four-page letter detailed safeguards implemented from 1995 through 1998 and the "rigorous respiratory protections" that she said are in place today.

Energy Department officials could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.

Chu said DOE officials in August 1996 issued a stop work order to TRW Environmental Safety Systems, the department's main contractor, because of concerns about respiratory protections for workers. The department then began making safety improvements.

"We do not know definitively how many workers may have been exposed to respirable silica that exceeded the threshold limit value, and we will not know the extent of the potential health impacts until medical evaluations are complete," Chu wrote.

From 1,200 to 1,500 individuals were involved in site work, according to the Department of Energy.

"We are making every effort to identify and locate each of these individuals," Chu said.

She said the Energy Department is offering them free silicosis screening arranged through the University of Cincinnati.

Besides workers, DOE is attempting to contact individuals who made 20 or more entries into the tunnel in a year and will offer them silicosis screenings as well, she said.

"Only after the medical evaluations are complete and the results have been communicated to the participants will we know the extent of silicosis occurrences," Chu wrote.