After a probe, the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General could not substantiate claims of cheating and other problems with Bechtel’s substance abuse program at the Waste Treatment Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state.
“Specifically, we found that management had taken several actions to address drug-related concerns,” the Office of Inspector General (OIG) said in a report released Tuesday.
“Drug-related incidents declined since mid-2019, and drug test failure trends were relatively stable since May 2019,” the OIG said, adding Bechtel’s drug-testing procedures are consistent with federal guidelines.
“We did not identify any issues that need to be addressed,” the OIG said. “Therefore, we made no recommendations or suggested actions.”
“We’ve always had a compliant substance abuse prevention program and appreciate being recognized for having strengthened it even further,” a Bechtel spokesperson said via email Wednesday.
Between July 2021 through March 2022, the DOE investigative office looked into claims that management “under-reported a growing trend of substance abuse” and ran a poor testing program. The Inspector General’s office could not verify any of the claims.
Bechtel is building the Waste Treatment Plant to vitrify, or turn into a solid-glass form, much of the 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste from Hanford’s 177 underground tanks starting late next year. The waste is a byproduct of decades of plutonium production for the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
After Bechtel identified large numbers of failed drug tests and an increase in drug-related incidents in early 2019, it did mandatory drug testing for its workforce. “This effort resulted in testing over 2,700 employees and disciplinary action for 21 employees for violations of Bechtel’s substance abuse policy,” according to the 10-page document.
The DOE and Bechtel also began testing for fentanyl and even had law enforcement bring in drug-sniffing dogs.
In July 2020, a DOE industrial safety official looked into the drug testing program at the vitrification plant. “A Department security official expressed disappointment with the amount of drug use occurring at WTP [Waste Treatment Plant] but added that zero incidents was not a realistic expectation,” the OIG said.
Bechtel tests for 14 separate drugs and drug classes, where federal guidelines require contractors to test for only five, according to the OIG. The contractor also tests for alcohol. “Any amount of alcohol detected or a confirmed drug test failure results in termination of employment,” according to the document.
