Society News Archive

24 September 1999

Yesterday, the House Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing to discuss the recent allegations of contamination at the Paducah Plant in Kentucky. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health testified before the subcommittee on the two-month investigation of worker safety he has completed at Paducah. The Subcommittee also heard testimony from contractors, workers, and other government officials.

DOE said that the Hanford, Savannah River, INEL and West Valley Sites all produced the recycled fuel blamed for the contamination. Michaels is now trying to trace where and how it was used. As of now, Michaels has determined that the contaminated material was handled in at least four production centers: Paducah and Portsmouth, Oak Ridge, Fernald, Weldon Spring and Ashtabula.

The transcript of the entire hearing is not yet available, however, to view the statements of those who testified at the hearing, go to: http://www.house.gov/commerce/ and click on hearings and markups.