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PADUCAH, KY - Workers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Paducah Site have completed a one-day safety stand down of all environmental management activities at the Western Kentucky uranium enrichment facility. The stand down found no imminent hazards to the health and safety of DOE and contractor workers.

"I ordered the stand down as part of my commitment to environment, safety and health at all our facilities," said Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson. "The stand down served to refocus attention on safety, to ensure that established procedures are well understood and are being followed and to give employees an opportunity to ask questions and raise concerns." The stand down, ordered by Secretary Richardson Wednesday and held yesterday, involved about 400 DOE and Bechtel Jacobs Company LLC employees and subcontractors.

"The stand down has been a useful experience for the DOE and contractor workers associated with our environmental management and safety programs at the Paducah site," said George Benedict, assistant manager for uranium and engineering services, DOE Oak Ridge Operations Office. "We found areas for improvement, but also learned that employees appreciate and understand their key role in safety."

As a part of the stand down, Energy Department and Bechtel Jacobs managers inspected DOE-related areas at the Paducah Site to ensure that potential hazards were correctly identified and properly posted. The stand down also focused on ensuring that work controls were in place and appropriate for work being done. Workers at the site were also reminded of the presence of plutonium and other transuranics onsite and measures to protect workers from these hazards.

During the course of the stand down Energy Department and Bechtel Jacobs managers noted deficiencies in the condition of postings in some areas containing known sources of radiological and chemical contamination. Also, managers noted that employees were interested in more communications and feedback on radiation monitoring programs, including air sampling programs and the use of personal dosimeters for various types of work.

"One of the key positives that we learned as a part of this process was the employees clearly understand that they have the authority to stop work and to immediately raise concerns about any work activity," said Benedict. "This tells us that employees at all levels are getting the message about the importance of safety in everything that we do."

DOE activities at Paducah resumed on Friday, September 10. Some activities associated with the stand down will continue early next week. These will include additional meetings with employees, addressing the concerns raised and making necessary improvements to correct deficiencies noted during the stand down.

- DOE -

R-99-242