Whistle-blower fired from job at most polluted U.S. nuclear arms production site in Washington state

[cali]

A whistle-blower who raised safety concerns at the most polluted nuclear weapons production site in the U.S. was fired Tuesday from her job at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

Donna Busche's complaints are part of a string of whistle-blower and other claims related to the design and safety of an unfinished waste treatment plant at Hanford, created by the federal government in the 1940s as part of the top-secret project to build the atomic bomb. Today, it is the nation's most contaminated nuclear site, where cleanup costs about $2 billion each year.

Busche, 50, said she was called into the office Tuesday morning and told she was being fired for cause.

"I turned in my key and turned in my badge and left the building," Busche told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Richland, where Hanford is located.

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Busche is the second Hanford whistleblower to be fired by URS in recent months. Walter Tamosaitis, who also raised safety concerns about the plant, was fired in October after 44 years of employment.

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http://www.theprovince.com/technology/Whistleblower+fired+from+most+polluted+nuclear+arms+production/9522769/story.html

[Octafish]

1. Concerns about plutonium safety should be grounds for promotion.

Whistle-blower Donna Busche fired at Hanford

By Nicholas K. Geranios, Associated Press
Published: February 18, 2014, 11:34 AM

EXCERPT...

Busche worked for URS Corp., which is helping build a $12 billion plant to turn Hanford’s most dangerous wastes into glass. Construction of the plant has been halted over safety concerns. Busche has filed complaints with the federal government, alleging she has suffered retaliation since filing her original safety complaint in 2011.

SNIP...

Central to the cleanup is dealing with 53 million gallons of highly radioactive waste left from decades of plutonium production for the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal. The waste is stored in 177 aging underground tanks, many of which have leaked, threatening the groundwater and the neighboring Columbia River.

The U.S. Department of Energy is investigating Busche’s safety concerns, while the U.S. Department of Labor is reviewing her complaints about retaliation and harassment.

URS Corp. said in a statement it encourages employees to raise safety concerns.

“We do not agree with her assertions that she suffered retaliation or was otherwise treated unfairly,” URS said, adding Busche was fired for reasons unrelated to the safety concerns. “Ms. Busche’s allegations will not withstand scrutiny.”

CONTINUED...

http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/feb/18/whistleblower-donna-busche-fired-at-hanford/

"Fired for cause." What a coincidence.