User:AshleyFortierUML/sandbox

Nuclear WhistleBlower Proposal

I would like to add some outside incidents such as the Fernald incidents. Along with this, I'd like to add a link to the organization that Crawford runs as a result of the Fernald incidents called FRESH (Fernald Residents for Environmental Safety Health). Another one to mention would be the Rocky Flats incident mentioned in another Wikipedia article here.

I would also propose adding a link to Whistle Blower support groups such as the one that can be found here. It would be most effective in Arnold Gundersen's paragraph but it could also stand on its own as its own section.

It might also be worthwhile to mention the most prominent safety regulations put forth by the NRC that can be found at this link.

The Whistleblower Support Fund is an organization that has compiled resources for whistleblowers to access if they are considering whistleblowing. It was founded by Donald Ray Soeken, who has counseled whistleblowers for 35 years. In addition, a social network to connect whistleblowers to other whistleblowers will be implemented. It will be a private discussion where whistleblowers can safely seek support.

Fernald Nuclear Incidents

The Fernald nuclear power plant was built in Crosby Township, Ohio in 1951. It was shrouded in suspicion with many manager changes and the people of the town ill-informed of the purpose of the plant. Throughout 1951-1995 the plant had numerous scandals including faking numbers for contamination and disregarding evidence of ground water pollution. Among the citizens affected by the pollution was Mrs. Lisa Crawford who took action. Crawford and other residents filed a lawsuit in 1985 and became president of the organization FRESH (Fernald Residents for Environmental Safety and Health). A lawsuit was then filed once again against Fernald by former employees several years later in 1990. After several years of being heavily advised not to blow the whistle, the workers earned themselves a $15 million settlement and lifelong medical monitoring. In 1992, FERMCO was hired to construct a cleanup plan for the plant and in 1996, around accusations of wasteful spending, the cleanup of ground water and soil was completed.

Mordechai Vanunu

Mordechai Vanunu blew the whistle on the nuclear plant in Dimona, Israel in an interview with The Sunday Times that was published on the 5th of October, 1986. According to Vanunu, this plant had been producing nuclear weapons for 10 to 20 years. It is estimated that there may be around 200 nuclear weapons in possession of Israel's nuclear weapons program. Vanunu demonstrated his knowledge to Frank Barnaby and John Steinbach and they confirmed the credibility of his story. Frank Barnaby wrote in his Declaration of Frank Barnaby in the Matter of Mordechai Vanunu that Vanunu had the bare minimum knowledge of nuclear physics that a technician should have and accurately described the makeup of the nuclear plant in Dimona. Vanunu has been in and out of jail after serving his 18 years issued by a closed door trial.

Edits to GE Three

Browns Ferry nuclear power plant construction went underway in 1996. It was located in Alabama and in 1967 it earned a Federal construction permit. The plant received new design standards which call for “physical separation of electrical cables.” There was an issue with the instructions on how to accomplish this so the AEC inspector F.U. Bower requested that the AEC elaborate; however, there was no response from the organization and installation went on. Still, no instructions were issued after five failed inspections in 1970. The lack of cable separation instructions led to the sacrifice of safety coolant systems in two of the units in order to improve one with severe safety violation. The ignorance of the AEC led to the fire that occurred on March 22, 1975, that almost led to a radiation leak. The substance separating the wires caught fire when tests to find air leaks with a candle ignited it thus resulting in damage to the control systems. With damage to the control systems, the cooling system that keeps the units from leaking radiation did not work properly. Somehow the situation was avoided and the units were put out of service. Throughout the occurrence of these events Bridenbaugh had been discussing his reservations on the safety at the plant in vain and in 1976 a year later Bridenbaugh, Hubbard and Minor resigned.

Walter Tamosaitis

The Hanford site resulted in a number of whistleblowers during the efforts to clean the site up. Walter Tamosaitis blew the whistle on the Energy Department’s plan for waste treatment at the Hanford site in 2011. Tamosaitis’s concern was the possibility of explosive hydrogen gas being built up inside tanks that the company was to store the harmful chemical sludge they were trying to put into hibernation for its chemical life. Shortly after this Tamosaitis was demoted and two years later, fired which triggered his lawsuit for wrongful termination. A $4.1 million settlement was offered to Tamosaitis from AECOM on the 12th of August 2015. Tamosaitis has since been reinstated.

Donna Busche blew the whistle resulting in her 2013 lawsuit with claims that the URS “retaliated against her. She was head of nuclear safety and a URS employee around the time when she expressed her concerns.

Gary Brunson reported 34 safety and engineering violations after quitting in 2012. Brunson was federal engineering chief before he quit.

Shelly Doss earned “$20,000 in emotional distress and $10,000 in callous disregard of her rights” as well as reinstatement in 2014. Doss was an environmental specialist at the time of her firing in 2011 working for Washington River Protection Solutions.

Crystal River 3 and Lou Putney

Lou Putney came on the scene of the Crystal River 3 plant after receiving a call from a plant engineer. The engineer claimed that the managers hired engineers based on "good ol' boy mentality." Along with this concern, the engineer was not confident that the manager possessed the qualifications to be a manager. Although the engineer pursued nothing further with his complaint, it prompted Putney to purchase shares of stock in the company that would allow him to file "shareholder resolutions." Putney had looked into the nuclear reactors that were built of an unsafe material for emergency cooling procedures. The NRC had placed Crystal River on the top 14 worst reactors list because of this. So, the shares were purchased in 1981, which is when Putney filed his first shareholder resolution requesting the plant be shut down. This tradition was upheld by Putney for seven years until he was required to purchase more stock in order to continue filing resolutions. Over the course of sixteen years, Putney filed a total of fourteen shareholder resolutions. All of these resolutions were ignored and were met with offers to buy out his shares so he could no longer file the resolutions. The plant was officially decommissioned in September of 2009.