DOE to reveal list of private nuclear work sites

Peter Eisler

Thursday, Sept. 14, 2000 | 11:05 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Energy, reversing decades of government secrecy, will release the names of hundreds of private companies that processed radioactive and toxic material for the U.S. nuclear weapons program in the 1940s and '50s.

A public database is being developed amid demands from Capitol Hill for a full accounting of the work done by commercial facilities that had classified contracts or sub-contracts with the weapons program. USA Today detailed many of the contracting operations last week in a three-day series examining their often severe health and environmental consequences.

DOE officials expect to put out an initial list next week of all private and government-owned facilities ever involved in nuclear weapons production, though information on the scope and dates of work at each site probably won't be added for a few weeks. While the federal plants and labs that did weapons work have long been known, the government has never identified more than a few dozen commercial properties where contractors processed weapons material.

"We are reconstructing the history of these (private) sites," says Energy Secretary Bill Richardson. "In the near future, we expect to have a more thorough, comprehensive list and a plan for addressing health and environmental concerns. "

USA Today found that roughly 300 private companies were secretly hired in the 1940s and '50s to do nuclear weapons work, handling thousands of tons of uranium, thorium, polonium, beryllium and other radioactive and toxic substances. The newspaper's investigation named 150 of the contracting sites and revealed that workers at many of them were exposed to extreme levels of radiation and chemical hazards, usually without their knowledge. The series also showed that many of the facilities pumped large volumes of hazardous waste into surrounding communities unaware of the weapons work being done by local businesses.

A growing number of lawmakers have since called on the DOE to release information on the contracting operations, most of which concluded in the '50s as the government got its own weapons-making facilities built to take over the work.

"Investigations regarding past operations and practices at these facilities would help determine the level of contamination of the site and human exposure," Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Texas, wrote in a letter pressing the DOE to release information on the "forgotten sites."