Kenneth Fletcher
RW Monitor
11/14/2014
While Honeywell restarted operations at its Metropolis uranium conversion facility this week after a recent release of uranium hexafluoride, the company’s initial response to the event has been questioned and the plant remains embroiled in a dispute with the United Steelworkers labor union. The Oct. 26 leak originated at a cold trap in the Feed Materials Building, and Honeywell did not immediately notify the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or release an Alert Declaration that should have been triggered by such an event, according to a Nov. 7 NRC confirmatory action letter. The Nov. 13 plant restart occurred “after a thorough investigation of the event and after completing three rigorous emergency drills designed to test enhancements to its emergency procedures and training,” Honeywell spokesman Peter Dalpe said in a statement. The final drill was evaluated by the NRC and monitored by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
When the event first occurred, Honeywell did not believe it met the criteria for an alert and did not notify the NRC. “Honeywell has reevaluated the event and determined that an Alert Declaration should have been made, and Honeywell has notified the NRC Operations Center of the after-the-fact emergency condition,” states the NRC letter.
Union: Response Would Have Been Different Under USW Workers
About 140 United Steelworkers members have been locked out of the plant since Aug. 2 by Honeywell after labor negotiations disputes. “The only workforce that had long-term experience in running the facility are the members that are locked out,” John Paul Smith, spokesman for USW Local 7-669, told RW Monitor. “Our members operate the facility and respond to the emergencies. With those people on the other side of the fence, it’s kind of a recipe for disaster.” While the release very well may have happened if union members were at the plant, “we can say for certain that the response would have been different just because our members have decades more experience responding to emergencies at that plant than the workforce that’s in there right now,” Smith said.
Honeywell says it had a qualified workforce in place at the time of the event. “During the work stoppage, we have operated the plant with fully-trained and qualified salaried and contingent workers,” Dalpe said. “The training and certifications for salaried staff and contingent workers are identical to what union employees are required to undergo before working in the same roles at the plant. All were thoroughly trained and certified well before the work stoppage and those certifications were verified by NRC inspectors.” He added, “During the event, plant personnel followed all emergency procedures and plant safety systems performed as designed.”
Plant ‘In Regular Contact’ With NRC and Responders
The company self-disclosed to the NRC that the event should have been classified as an alert, Dalpe noted. “The classification of the incident as an alert rather than a plant emergency would not have changed how plant personnel responded to the incident,” he said. “It would have only meant that plant personnel would have been required to officially notify the NRC and additional government agencies of the alert status. Plant personnel were in regular contact with NRC and local emergency responders throughout the Oct. 26. incident, proactively providing information to ensure they were well informed about the leak and the plant’s emergency response efforts.”
However, Smith said that the lack of official NRC notification has raised questions among workers and the community. “It almost seemed like the plant was afraid to say listen, there’s a big deal going on here,” he said.
Before restarting the plant, the NRC notified Honeywell that its emergency drills fulfill its restart commitments, Dalpe said. “The company’s investigation of the event has conclusively determined that the source of the leak was a mechanical failure of a piece of equipment near the end of the production process. That equipment does not share a design with any other piece of equipment in the plant and has isolated from the production process,” he said. “After its own independent inspection, the NRC has concluded that no detectable radioactive material was released from the site.”
Steelworkers File Unfair Labor Practice Charges
Also this week, the USW filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board. The union claims that Honeywell’s Aug. 2 lockout of its workers was in violation of the National Labor Relations Act. “The union alleges Honeywell threatened to permanently replace its union workforce; illegally dealt directly with employees instead of bargaining with the union; and failed to respond to an information request from the union,” according to a USW release.
Honeywell has bargained with the union in good faith and complied with all laws and regulations, Dalpe said. “The company will vigorously defend itself before the board against the union’s allegations in the complaint,” he said. “The company remains committed to bargaining in good faith. The company has repeatedly made contract offers to the union and Honeywell is disappointed that union leadership has not allowed its membership to vote on Honeywell’s competitive and comprehensive offer for a new 6-year collective bargaining agreement. The latest offer came during the last bargaining session on October 2 and 3 and the company is awaiting the union’s response. That offer would ensure that the union workforce remains one of the highest-paid workforces in the region, earning an average of $29.65 per hour.”
