Weapons Sites Research Articles

Mortality of older construction and craft workers employed at Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear sites: Follow-up through 2021.

To determine if construction and trades workers formerly employed at US Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear weapons sites are at significant risk for occupational diseases, we studied the mortality experience of participants in the Building Trades National Medical Screening Program (BTMed). The cohort included 26,922 participants enrolled between 1998 and 2021 and 8367 deaths. Standardized mortality ratios were calculated based on US death rates. Cox models compared construction workers (n = 22,747; 7487 deaths) to two nonconstruction subpopulations: administrative, scientific and security workers (n = 1894; 330 deaths), and all other nonconstruction workers (n = 2218; 550 deaths). Mortality was elevated for all causes, all cancers, cancers of the trachea, bronchus, lung, kidneys, and lymphatic and hematopoietic system, mesothelioma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asbestosis, transportation injuries, and other injuries, particularly accidental poisonings. There were 167 deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was lower than expected using US death rates. Overall cause-specific mortality was significantly higher among construction workers than for internal comparison groups. Construction workers employed at DOE sites have a significantly increased risk for occupational illnesses. Apart from COVID-19 deaths, this update: (1) found that mortality among construction workers is significantly elevated compared to the US population and significantly higher than in the internal comparison populations, and (2) confirmed excess risk for these workers for first employment after 1990. Cancer mortality risks are similar to the cancers identified for DOE compensation from radiation exposures. The high lung cancer risk supports the value of early lung cancer detection. Continued medical surveillance is important.

Arsenic and heavy metals at Japanese abandoned chemical weapons site in China: distribution characterization, source identification and contamination risk assessment.

As-containing chemical weapons (CWs) and their degraded products pose a great threat to the environment and to human health. In this study, concentration and distribution characteristics, source identification, and health risk assessments were determined for As, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in environmental samples from Lianhuapao (LHP), a typical site of Japanese abandoned chemical weapons (JACWs) in China. The results show that the concentration levels of As, Cr and Ni in the LHP soils are abnormally high, with 69.57%, 83.33% and 91.67%, respectively, of the total sample exceeding the risk screening values for soil contamination of agricultural land. As levels in water samples were generally within safety limits, with the exception of perched water in the core contamination area. In the study area, none of the dominant plant species were enriched with As, except for the Pteris vittata L. Pentavalent arsenic was found to be the predominant arsenic species in the topsoil and water samples. Source identification using statistical approaches indicated that the concentrations of As, Pb, Cu, Cd and Zn are likely influenced by JACWs, while Cr and Ni levels may be related to the natural weathering process. The total concentrations of As, Cr and Ni showed a significant degree of contamination, but only As displayed high potential ecological risk. The calculated indexes of health risk evaluation strongly indicate an unacceptable carcinogenic risk (1E-04) to children, and higher non-carcinogenic risk, relative to that of adults. Our data indicate that the health risk from the resulting As contamination is still a cause for concern, although the JACWs were excavated decades ago from these soils.

Communicating about Contaminated Site Cleanup using Coordinated and Consistent Metrics: Opportunity and Challenge for the U.S. Department of Energy

Over $500 billion has gone toward cleanup of large contaminated sites owned and/or operated by the U.S. Federal Government over the past 30 years. Nevertheless, some stakeholders worry about the risks associated with what they perceive as a slow process of cleanup, as well as the positive and negative impacts of the cleanup activities themselves. Therefore, it is important for both the U.S. taxpayer and workers and residents living near the sites that are impacted by site conditions and activities, to clearly understand the progress that is being made toward achieving published cleanup goals, and a timeline for completion. This manuscript asks how lessons drawn from risk communication literature can inform practices for communicating metrics related to cleanup progress at U.S Department of Energy former nuclear weapon sites to different audiences. Following the review of literature, we present a case study that explores metrics being used and communicated on the websites of DOE and its largest sites, and discuss the consistency of these metrics and implications for public understanding and trust of progress being made. We finish the manuscript by applying the principles from the literature to the findings from the case study to suggest how the DOE could consider improvements in the format, content or delivery of cleanup progress metrics to its various audiences.

Overhaul urged for US nuclear weapons cleanup

An expert science panel is calling for the US Department of Energy to overhaul science and technology development for cleaning up the nation’s nuclear weapons sites. The huge cleanup program has already taken nearly 40 years and will likely take at least 50 more, says a report released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on March 4. Cleanup has cost $170 billion to date and is likely to draw at least another $377 billion, according to panel chair and Columbia University engineering professor Patricia J. Culligan. The DOE is responsible for cleaning up 107 sites used for nuclear weapons development, testing, and production during the Manhattan Project and the Cold War. The formal program began in the 1980s and has cleaned up 91 sites so far. The remaining 16 sites present the thorniest radioactive and hazardous waste challenges. To address those challenges, the National Academies report recommends

Government by Contract and the Structural Constitution

Although private parties have performed government functions throughout most of Western history, mainstream administrative law scholarship is dotted with concerns over the extent to which modern federal government activities are outsourced to private contractors. Federal contractors routinely exercise authority that is classically “executive” in nature. They write regulations, interpret laws, administer foreign aid, manage nuclear weapons sites and intelligence operations, interrogate detainees, control borders, design surveillance systems, and provide military support in combat zones. Administrative law places few constraints on private contractors, and prevailing constitutional principles — the state action and private delegation doctrines, in particular — are either inept at holding private contractors to constitutional norms or utterly moribund. A common theme that appears in the vast literature on privatization, therefore, is accountability. There is no recognized constitutional theory that meaningfully prohibits Congress or the President from transferring significant amounts of discretionary governmental power to wholly private entities that operate beyond the purview of the Constitution, and there is relatively sparse scholarly analysis of the subject. This Article searches for a constitutional principle that could be employed to address hypothetical outsourcing arrangements that go too far for the American appetite. In that pursuit, it looks to the law governing independent agencies as a natural starting point for evaluating the propriety of outsourcing relationships from the standpoint of the structural Constitution. It then introduces two ideas with an eye toward sparking fresh thinking about the constitutionality of privatization: first, the notion that all actors exercising federal government power should be viewed along a constitutional continuum and not as occupying separate private/public spheres; and, second, that a democratic accountability principle may be derived from the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Co. Accounting Oversight Board, as a constitutional hook for addressing government-by-contract gone awry.

Energy parks for former nuclear weapons sites? Public preferences at six regional locations and the United States as a whole

The United States Department of Energy has proposed building energy parks at some of its former nuclear sites. These parks would develop technologies to enhance renewable energy sources, nuclear, coal, and others, as well as technologies to manage the waste, and transmit the energy. A survey of 3200 United States residents assessed public reaction to the policy. Half of the samples were gathered at four locations each centered on a major DOE facility; 25% were obtained at two other regions; and 25% were a national sample. As a whole, respondents from the four DOE-centered sites were more supportive of the concept than their counterparts, especially those respondents who lived in counties within 20 miles of the DOE site. Their support is associated with knowledge of the existing DOE facilities, desire for greater reliance on renewable energy sources and nuclear power, and a belief that the environment will improve during the next 25 years. They disproportionately trust authorities responsible for managing major energy facilities and assess the economic impact of these facilities to be positive. The challenge to proponents of energy parks is to broaden the support among the 60% that had more lukewarm or neutral responses to the idea and to place the proposal in the larger national energy policy context.

Seasonal and diel patterns of biting midges (Ceratopogonidae) and mosquitoes (Culicidae) on the Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot

The Marine Corps Recruit Depot on Parris Island, SC, is surrounded by tidal salt marshes, which are breeding habitats for many pestiferous biting flies. Knowledge of biting fly behavior patterns is needed to develop effective pest management strategies in urban areas adjacent to salt marshes. We measured biting midge (Ceratopogonidae) and mosquito (Culicidae) seasonal abundance and diel activity patterns on Parris Island using CO(2)-baited suction traps from November 2001 - November 2004. Of the three biting midge species collected, Culicoides furens was most abundant (86.2% of total) and was present in high numbers from late March to November. Culicoides hollensis (12.0% of total) was present during spring and fall but absent in summer and winter; and Culicoides melleus (1.7% of total) was present in spring through fall but absent in winter. Abundance of C. furens had a positive linear correlation with air temperature and rainfall. There were nonlinear correlations between air temperature and C. hollensis and C. melleus numbers, which were most abundant at moderate temperatures. Of 18 mosquito species collected, the most abundant were Aedes taeniorhynchus (42.7% of total), Aedes sollicitans (26.3% of total), Culex salinarius (15.6% of total), Culex quinquefasciatus (7.3% of total), and Aedes vexans (5.7% of total); other species comprised <5% of collections. Aedes taeniorhynchus numbers were positively correlated with temperature and rainfall, and Cx. salinarius was correlated with soil moisture. Activity of most biting midges and mosquitoes were highest the first two hours following sunset. Species of biting flies were present in all months, suggesting that year-round control measures are necessary to reduce exposure to potential disease vectors and nuisance biting.

Spy satellites monitor China's nuclear weapon sites for earthquake damage

Spy satellites monitor China's nuclear weapon sites for earthquake damage

The Ultimate LULU? Public Reaction to New Nuclear Activities at Major Weapons Sites

Finding locations for locally unwanted land uses (LULUs) has become a major challenge in the United States, and no land uses are more controversial than nuclear weapons research, nuclear waste management, and nuclear power generation. In this research, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), we explore whether U.S. government-owned land already devoted to nuclear uses would provide logical locations for new nuclear activities. We surveyed people living within 50 miles of six existing DOE nuclear weapons sites, asking about their attitudes toward banning additional nuclear activities at these sites and about factors that might influence these attitudes. Although the majority said prohibiting additional nuclear uses at these sites was a high priority, many were willing to entertain the idea. This work suggests ways to make nuclear siting more successful by considering pre-existing sites, and encouraging the DOE to try harder to open communication channels with the public and its representatives.

Emergency Preparedness Among People Living Near US Army Chemical Weapons Sites After September 11, 2001

We examined trust in the army and perceptions of emergency preparedness among residents living near the Anniston, Ala, and Richmond, Ky, US Army chemical weapons stockpile sites shortly after September 11, 2001. Residents (n = 655) living near the 2 sites who participated in a cross-sectional population were relatively unprepared in the event of a chemical emergency. The events of September 11 gave rise to concerns regarding the security of stored chemical weapons and the sites' vulnerability to terrorist attacks. Although residents expressed trust in the army to manage chemical weapons safely, only a few expressed a desire to actively participate in site decisions. Compliance with procedures during emergencies could be seriously limited, putting residents in these sites at higher levels of risk of exposure to chemical hazards than nonresidents.

Preferences for alternative risk management policies at the United States major nuclear weapons legacy sites

A survey of 1351 people who lived within 50 miles of one of six US Department of Energy nuclear weapon sites showed that the vast majority of residents prefer strong public health surveillance and land use controls. The sample was stratified so that the same number of responses was obtained at each site. The strongest correlates of wanting the DOE to restrict on-site activities and maintain and expand its surveillance programs were worries about DOE activities on the site, as well as how those activities could damage the off-site environment. Notably, the exceptions, that is, those who demanded less from the DOE and were not particularly worried about the DOE's activities, tended to live near the site, many worked there or knew people who did, and had high socio-economic status, and trusted the DOE. The findings are mostly, but not entirely, consistent with expectations drawn from the risk perception and organizational trust literatures. The challenge is how to establish a stewardship program that represents a consensus among state and local government, community advisory boards and the public that remediation can go on at the same time that some waste is managed on-site until suitable technologies can be safely deployed, which at some sites means 100 years or in perpetuity.

Frequency and Quality of Radiation Monitoring of Construction Workers at Two Gaseous Diffusion Plants

Construction workers were and are considered temporary workers at many construction sites. Since World War II, large numbers of construction workers were employed at U.S. Department of Energy nuclear weapons sites for periods ranging from a few days to over 30 years. These workers performed tasks during new construction and maintenance, repair, renovation, and demolition of existing facilities. Such tasks may involve emergency situations, and may entail opportunities for significant radiation exposures. This paper provides data from interviews with more than 750 construction workers at two gaseous diffusion plants (GDPs) at Paducah, Kentucky, and Portsmouth, Ohio regarding radiation monitoring practices. The aim was to determine the extent to which workers believed they were monitored during tasks involving potential radiation exposures. The adequacy of monitoring practices is important for two reasons: (a) Protecting workers from exposures: Construction workers were employed by sub-contractors, and may frequently been excluded from safety and health programs provided to permanent employees; and (b) Supporting claims for compensation: The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) requires dose reconstruction of radiation exposures for most workers who file a claim regarding cancer. The use of monitoring data for radiation to qualify a worker means that there should be valid and complete monitoring during the work time at the various nuclear plants or workers may be unfairly denied compensation. The worker interviews from Paducah and Portsmouth were considered especially useful because these sites were designated as Special Exposure Cohorts (SECs) and the workers did not have to have a dose reconstruction to qualify for compensation for most cancers. Therefore, their responses were less likely to be affected by compensation concerns. Interview questions included asking for information regarding whether monitoring was performed, how often, and the maintenance (calibration) of monitoring equipment (devices).

Environmental cleanup of the nation's former nuclear weapons sites: Unprecedented public‐private challenges at the largest facilities

AbstractIn 1994, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiated a contract reform program intended to strengthen oversight capabilities and encourage the creation of contract and incentive structures, which would effectively facilitate the treatment of onsite contamination and waste. The remedia‐tion and disposal of these legacy wastes is the core of the Department's environmental manage‐ment mission (Government Accountability Office [GAO], 2003). Despite a concerted effort toward achieving the goals of the reform, progress has been slow. Many projects continue to necessitate cost and time extensions above those originally agreed upon. Although the Department insti‐tuted an accelerated cleanup program in 2002, promising to shave some $50 billion and 35 years from its earlier cost and schedule projections, there have been delays in critical project areas that call into question the attainability of the proposed reductions (GAO, 2005). Numerous explana‐tions have been offered as to why achieving these goals has proven so difficult, many of which have concluded that flawed contracting practices are to blame. This article concludes that the root of the problem is much deeper and that the organizational criticisms aimed at DOE are as much a legacy as the waste itself. Although the focus of this article is on large former nuclear weapons sites, these types of contracting and organizational issues are often found at other gov‐ernment and private complex hazardous waste sites. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Measurement of radionuclides using ion chromatography and on-line radiation detection

A technique is presented for the relatively rapid measurement of actinide and beta-emitting radionuclides in waste streams and environmental samples. It uses ion chromatography for elemental selectivity and flow-through scintillation counting with dual parameter pulse-height and pulse-shape analysis for alpha/beta detection and discrimination. The system was tested for one surrogate sample (spiked groundwater from the southeastern U.S.) and two actual samples from the Savannah River Site (supernatant from a highactivity drain tank and sludge from a high level waste tank). For the spiked groundwater, recoveries were quantitative for all of the analytes (americium, curium, plutonium, and strontium) except uranium. For the actual samples, which contained americium, curium, plutonium, strontium, and cesium, the results using the system were within 20% of those obtained independently. Based on these tests, it is concluded that the system is capable of analyzing alpha- and beta-emitting radionuclides in samples that are representative of those encountered at contaminated former weapons sites.

Life‐cycle cost in a highly uncertain economic environment: The case of managing the U.S. Department of Energy's nuclear waste legacy

AbstractThe U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) faces an unusually difficult challenge in estimating life‐cycle costs at former weapons sites because of the uncertainties of technology, stewardship, future land use, laws and regulations, and value and availability of money. Further, it is difficult to forecast local and international events for the indefinite period of time over which DOE will be responsible for many sites. We view the challenge as requiring an approach that accepts some variables as under DOE's control and others not under the Department's control. We suggest being as explicit as possible about the full set of cost elements and viewing life‐cycle cost estimation as a stochastic process that will require both detailed data analysis and interviews with experts to provide the basis upon which to produce plausible estimates. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

National Government Policy Options for Contributing to Regional Economic Stability: The US Department of Energy's Major Nuclear Weapons Sites

AbstractWe have conducted economic simulation, historical, and survey research that considers the national government's obligation to the regions that surround the places where it developed and tested nuclear weapons. The research shows that the strongest case for an obligation is at four site regions: Hanford (Washington), Idaho, Oak Ridge (Tennessee), and Savannah River (Georgia, South Carolina). These four are dependent on the Department of Energy (DOE), have relatively low incomes, are expected to grow less economically than their counterparts and the nation as a whole, and suffer from environmental stigma. We reviewed and simulated the impacts of a variety of tools, including severance packages, onsite projects, and offsite economic investments. In essence, investments in severance packages, education, and recreation are more effective per dollar invested than high technology, but all investments are less effective in these dependent regions than in larger metropolitan areas because of the economic leakage out of these dependent regions. The national government needs to begin a process of working with these regions to help them deal with the shock of shrinking their dependency on the DOE.

Occupational health services at ten U.S. Department of Energy weapons sites.

Nuclear weapons sites are among thousands of federal facilities that are contaminated with a variety of hazardous wastes. Workers at these sites participate in a wide array of activities that can result in their exposure to a variety of hazards. The purpose of this study was to describe the occupational health and safety services at ten U.S. Department of Energy sites. Interviews were conducted with 30 health and safety professionals, including physicians, program managers, and industrial hygienists. Data collection was guided by a quality assessment model that provided a means to examine the structures, processes, and outcomes of occupational health and safety services. It was determined that services for some worker groups, such as subcontractors, were limited; other problems identified included a mismatch between hazards (physical hazards) and types of service providers (radiation experts), ineffective databases, and communication problems. This description of health and safety services has provided valuable information that can be used to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery in this large and complex organization.

Local and interregional economic analysis of large US Department of energy waste management projects

An economic simulation model was used to understand the local and interregional economic impacts of four alternative waste management technologies proposed for the US Department of Energy's Savannah River nuclear weapons site. The simulations of the four technologies, each of which will cost at least a billion dollars, were done for the period 2000–2015. The analyses show that differences in project costs are not directly reflected in local economic impacts because of differences among the technologies during the design, testing and construction phases; differences in locations where the design and pilot-testing would occur; and choices about how any of the technologies would be funded.

HANFORD ON FAST-FORWARD

OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS, A growing number of state, federal, and local officials have begun working on plans to quicken the pace of cleanups at highly polluted former nuclear weapons sites managed by the Department of Energy Furthest along in developing an accelerated cleanup plan is DOE's Hanford Site in rural southeastern Washington. Hartford's cleanup is likely to be DOE's most complex, expensive, and time-consuming. There, over 40 years, 72 tons of plutonium was produced; today the site is home to 53 million gal of high-level radioactive and chemical waste liquids and sludge and other Herculean cleanup challenges. Hanford also has a past plagued with problems and delays that have tormented the state, the Environmental Protection Agency, and local residents. Whether DOE can succeed in reaching an accelerated cleanup agreement that works at Hanford will be a bellwether for some 100 other contaminated DOE weapons sites. The Bush Administration began a drive for faster ...

Regional Economic Impacts of Environmental Management of Radiological Hazards: An Initial Analysis of a Complex Problem

We conducted an economic analysis of four different billion-plus dollar technological options for managing the salt wastes in the high-level waste tanks at the Savannah River nuclear weapons site (SRS) in South Carolina, USA. While US Department of Energy leadership is appropriately most concerned with health, safety and the environment, the economic implications of the choice cannot be dismissed. Combinations of technologies, where the technology is to be designed and tested, and who pays for it, were considered. With the caveat that the engineering designs are not the final versions and are therefore subject to change, we found that the most expensive technologies to design and build may not produce the most jobs or the greatest gross regional product in the SRS region because a great deal of the design and engineering from prototype to testing will not be done in the host region. Furthermore, in terms of the local economic impacts in the SRS region, this analysis shows that the policy choice regarding the method of funding the project (which budget the money comes from) matters as much as the selection of the remediation technology.