Portsmouth cleanup staff cautiously returns to work

After getting a couple of snow days, employees for Fluor-BWXT, the Department of Energy cleanup contractor at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio, were urged to be cautious in returning to work Wednesday, according to a Facebook post.

In the Tuesday post, Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth said the DOE site was providing help to move employees from the parking area to their work area.

“The snow removal crews have made great progress, but there are still some walking paths that may be snow covered or may have refrozen overnight,” the contractor said via the social media post.

“Beginning at 5:30 a.m. the site will be providing taxis, vans and other transportation to get you safely from your vehicle to your work area,” the Fluor-BWXT said. “To take advantage of the transportation, simply stay in your car with the lights on until a vehicle comes by to pick you up.”

The ride service was to last for two hours in the morning and scheduled to be repeated at the end of the day, Fluor-BWXT said.

Most Fluor-BWXT workers were told to stay home or telecommute on Monday and Tuesday after Pike County, Ohio declared a “level 3” snow emergency, designed to keep most non-emergency traffic off the roads. The National Weather Service weather forecast Wednesday and Thursday for Piketon, Ohio predicted daytime highs would not exceed 26 degrees Fahrenheit.  

United Steelworkers Local 689 President Herman Potter said Wednesday the union has received conflicting information so far from DOE and Fluor-BWXT over whether employees told to stay home will be paid for those two days.