Congressional Reaction: Brookhaven National Laboratory
Earlier this month, Department of Energy Secretary Federico Pena terminated the management contract with Associated Universities Inc. at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Since then, the House Science Committee has announced its intention to review this action.
At a “posture” hearing on DOE last week of the House Science Committee, Pena gave no indication he has had second thoughts about the termination of the management contract. Committee chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin) started the hearing by reminding Pena that the committee “intend[s] to review this decision, the Department’s management of Brookhaven, and the implications of this decision for DOE’s National Laboratory system.... While I do not want to prejudge the outcome of this review in any way, I do want to note that the independent oversight review conducted by DOE’s Office of Environment, Safety and Health pointed out that many of the management problems at the Laboratory were caused by DOE.”
Pena took this action following a departmental oversight review that, according to DOE, “found an imbalance between environment, safety and health, and science missions....” DOE cited problems with accountability and mitigation, and “the disintegration of public trust in laboratory management.” Tritium contamination was found during groundwater monitoring south of the spent fuel pool of the High Flux Beam Reactor. DOE outlined other significant problems in a two-page fact sheet released to the media.
Pena appointed Office of Energy Research Director Martha Krebs to develop, by June 2, an action plan for correcting these problems, a deadline which he assured science committee members would be met. Other senior personnel are being brought to Brookhaven while DOE conducts the search for a new contractor over the next six months. EPA will also perform an independent full-facility environmental inspection of Brookhaven.
At last week’s hearing, Pena summarized his position in his written testimony as follows: “Doing excellent science does not excuse lapses in environment, safety, and health management. The combination of confusion and mismanagement that has been occurring at Brookhaven over the years is going to end. Our workers and neighbors must know that their health and safety is our top priority.” He added, “But let me be clear that I am proud of the quality of science that has been and is being done at Brookhaven.”
Reacting to Pena’s action and testimony, George Brown (D-California) called the termination “somewhat shocking,” and asked if strengthened management could have remedied Brookhaven’s problems. Pena replied that the former Brookhaven management had not resolved “well documented,” long-term problems, with a complete breakdown of community trust and confidence in the lab’s management. Brown commented that the “public can act irrationally,” but Pena was unswayed.
