While most workers surveyed at the Department of Energy Portsmouth Site believe management is looking out for their safety most of the time, many lack confidence in radiation measurements and worry about chemical hazards at the former gaseous diffusion plant.
Those are a couple of takeaways from a report done for the United Steelworkers Union and its Local 1-689, which represents about 1,000 members at the nuclear cleanup site. The study was also funded through the union.
An “Investigation of Awareness and Knowledge of Workplace Hazards at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant,” is a 53-page document completed in August and viewed this week by Exchange Monitor. The report, drafted by a University of Michigan graduate student and an Oberlin College undergrad, is based on a written survey of 312 Portsmouth workers, and 14 in-person interviews, along with public records on the site.
“While most workers had experienced a radiological or chemical exposure incident, most responded that these were rarely or never reported or documented,” according to the document. “Survey data tells us that most workers frequently wore radiation dosimetry badges, but write-in comments and interview transcripts reveal that there is worker skepticism about the efficacy of radioactive exposures being detected and whether these are being correctly documented.”
Written copies of the survey were distributed at a couple of union meetings and retiree gatherings, while the electronic version was posted the Local 1-689’s website and on Facebook. It was a “blind” survey so there could be both some retirees along with some salaried people surveyed, Local 1-689 President Herman Potter said by phone Tuesday.
The research is part of a larger union effort to see more workers win compensation for health conditions resulting from their work at DOE-contracted nuclear facilities, according to the report.
Many surveyed said there are gaps in the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act database and believe eligibility should be expanded for that program’s special exposure cohort status.
While overshadowed by the specter of radiation exposure, workers described health concerns from non-radiological exposures including asbestos, beryllium, trichloroethylene, hydrogen fluoride gas, heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs and chlorinated compounds, according to the report.
