SENATOR TO MEET WITH HANFORD WHISTLEBLOWERS TODAY

Sen. Claire McCaskill is set to hold a “roundtable” this morning with two former Hanford employees who have charged they faced retaliation for raising safety concerns at the Waste Treatment Plant project. Those set to participate in the event include Donna Busche, who served as a key nuclear safety manager at the WTP and who was recently terminated by URS, a major subcontractor at the project; and Walter Tamosaitis, who held the position of research and technology manager at the WTP and who has alleged he was removed from the project in 2010 for raising concerns. Tamosaitis continued to be employed by URS until last fall, when he was let go in layoffs URS said were prompted by budget issues.

 

McCaskill’s roundtable is set to occur before a hearing the Senate Financial and Contracting Oversight Subcommittee is scheduled to hold on the safety culture at Hanford. The hearing appears to have been prompted, in large part, by Busche’s termination. Those scheduled to testify include Bill Eckroade, Deputy Chief of Operations at the Department of Energy’s Office of Health, Safety and Security; Matt Moury, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Safety, Security and Quality Programs in DOE’s Office of Environmental Management; James Taylor, General Manager of URS’ Global Management and Operations Services unit; and Michael Graham, Principal Vice President at Bechtel National. McCaskill’s roundtable is scheduled to begin at 10:15 a.m. in Room 628 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, followed by the subcommittee hearing beginning at 11 a.m.