Fired Y-12 Guard Loses Final Appeal for Reinstatement
NS&D Monitor
8/22/2014
One of the casualties of 2012 break-in at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant has suffered another setback. Kirk Garland, the security police officer fired after the security breach, lost his arbitration case in which he sought backpay and reinstatement. Garland said he was notified earlier this month that the federal arbitrator had ruled in favor of G4S Government Solutions (also known as Wackenhut), the former Y-12 security contractor. “That’s it,” Garland said. “I don’t have (any) appeals. I don’t agree with it. But it’s kind of hard to fight the government, I guess.”
He was fired within days of the July 28, 2012 security breach in which an 82-year-old Catholic nun and two other Plowshares protesters broke into the plant and ultimately reached the plant’s inner Protected Area. Garland was the first security officer at the scene and he was accused of not following procedures and being too lax in his treatment of the three peace activists. Garland had maintained that he acted as he was trained, insisting he had matters under control and the protesters did not pose a threat. He said he was treated as a scapegoat for problems that were created by the government’s actions and insufficient funding of security operations.
More Problems with Collapsing Concrete Ceilings Pop Up at Y-12 Facilities
NS&D Monitor
8/22/2014
Despite ongoing programs to reduce risks and extend the life of old production buildings, the signs of age continue to show themselves at the Y-12 National Security Complex, sometimes without warning. A newly released July 11 memo by staff of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board noted there had been another problem with pieces of ceilings falling to the floor. This time it occurred in Building 9215, one of the Y-12 facilities that is expected to be used to accommodate additional operations and help the plant get out of its most deteriorated facility, the 9212 uranium processing facility. “This week, a CNS (Consolidated Nuclear Security) supervisor found that a piece of concrete had fallen from the ceiling in the stairwell that leads to the basement of M-Wing in Building 9215,” the defense board memo stated. “The supervisor controlled the area and notified the Shift Manager. Following a structural engineer’s inspection of the area, the Shift Manager posted the entrance to the stairwell with signs requiring personnel to don a hard hat prior to entry.”
The report said the concrete chunk that fell from the ceiling was about three inches in diameter and nine inches long. “There was no visible indication of reinforcing bar or corrosion in the concrete chunk or the affected area of the ceiling,” the memo said. The correction plan, as proposed, was to install a steel plate “to protect personnel from falling debris as they pass under the deteriorated area.”
A Red Team review of options for replacing Y-12’s uranium production capabilities recommended greater use of Building 9215 in the future to help cut the costs of building new structures, as previously was the plan under the Uranium Processing Facility. Meanwhile, the board memo also noted Y-12 had conducted additional inspections in response to the “concrete spalling event” that occurred in the spring at the Beta-2 facility at Y-12. The Beta-2 evaluation “recommends several new mitigating controls that include restricting access in some locations due to severe degradation,” the report stated. The safety board staff said CNS senior management is “evaluating the recommendations and plans to ensure appropriate controls are implemented.
HFIR Back Up and Running After Delay
NS&D Monitor
8/22/2014
The startup of the High Flux Isotope Reactor, delayed by about a week to address issues with the reactor’s computer codes, took place on Aug. 6 and the operations are reportedly back to normal. Tim Powers, the research reactors chief at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, said, “We worked with our DOE counterparts to solve our code issue. We had been keeping our researchers aware of our prognosis.” Powers said the codes in question are heat transfer codes. “It will not change how we operate the facility,” he said. “It is to document the exact condition of our facility during certain scenarios.”
Ron Reagan, the HFIR plant manager, apologized to the facility’s experimental users for the week’s delay in schedule but noted that the reactor staff had worked “very diligently” with the Department of Energy to gain approval for restart. The 85-megawatt reactor is one of the world’s most powerful research reactors. It is used for materials experiments as well as production of radioisotopes for industry, research and medicine. The reactor was built in the 1960s, but it has undergone numerous upgrades and refurbishments and there are plans to operate the facility for many years to come.
More Lawsuits Filed Seeking Back Pay for Oak Ridge Security Guards
NS&D Monitor
8/22/2014
Six new lawsuits have been filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville seeking overtime compensation for Oak Ridge security guards. The complaints were filed by attorney Garry Ferraris, who recently reached a $2.64 million out-of-court settlement with G4S Government Solutions (the former Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge DOE security contractor) that provided back pay to more than 300 security guards at Y-12 and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Those guards were members of the International Guards Union of America.
The new cases are similar and seek damages for unpaid regular time and overtime and costs and expenses of the lawsuits. The lawsuits claim DOE’s Oak Ridge contractors did not adequately compensate guards for off-the-clock work that was required but not counted in the work week. The complaints allege that contractors violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Some of the new legal actions are on behalf of sergeants, lieutenants and other security supervisors, as well as security police officers.
G4S is the defendant in three of the new lawsuits brought on behalf of Y-12 supervisors, as well as security police officers who worked at the East Tennessee Technology Park and at Y-12 and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Two of the complaints were filed against National Strategic Protective Services LLC, the partnership that replaced G4S as security contractor at ORNL and ETTP. The other suit is against Babcock & Wilcox Y12, the former managing contractor at Y-12 that took over security responsibilities at the Oak Ridge plant after G4S’s contract was terminated following the mid-summer security breach in 2012.
