The Tri City Herald

June 16, 2005
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Public sounds off on worries


This story was published Thursday, June 16th, 2005

By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer

The contractor that administers Hanford claims for workers' compensation has caused Bob Immele more grief than his incurable lung illness, he said at Hanford's annual State of the Site meeting Wednesday night in Richland.

Worker after worker stood up to complain to the Department of Energy about Contract Claims Services Inc.

"You guys got a problem there," said Steve Lewis, who was exposed to chemical vapors from Hanford's underground tanks of radioactive waste.

Too often workers are left with no resort but to hire attorneys to fight claim denials by CCSI, they said.

The state of Washington has twice issued orders to pay medical claims made by Thomas Peterson, who has the same illness as Immele, chronic beryllium disease, said Peterson's wife, Janet. The illness is caused by an allergylike reaction to the metal beryllium, which is used in the nuclear industry.

But CCSI continued to refuse to cover her husband's claims for medical expenses incurred before a correct diagnosis of the rare disease had been made, Janet Peterson said.

"It's CCSI's mode to deny claims," she said. "They're making this adversarial. This is nothing but harassment of sick or injured workers."

DOE was caught unprepared for the complaints and had no one at the meeting who worked directly with the contractor, and no representative of the contractor was there to defend its decisions.

The annual meeting is a chance for workers and the community to hear an update on work at Hanford, where $2 billion is being spent each year on cleaning up contamination from the past production of plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program.

It's also a chance for workers and the public to ask questions of DOE officials and leaders of the site's regulators, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington State Department of Ecology.

"I've heard things that make me want to ask tough questions," said Keith Klein, manager of DOE's Richland Operations Office for Hanford. "Believe me, you've gotten my attention."

Klein said he had heard few complaints about CCSI before the meeting, and studies indicated the contractor acted responsibly and within the law. But he will be talking to John Shaw, DOE's assistant secretary for environment, safety and health, to see if an independent look at the program can be done, he said.

DOE's intent is not to burden sick workers with bureaucracy, said Doug Shoop, assistant manager for safety and engineering for the Richland Operations Office.

"I apologize for all the difficulty you as sick workers have gone through," he said.

CCSI is a state problem as well, because the state Department of Labor and Industry agreed to turn the worker compensation program over to DOE, said Gerald Pollet of Heart of America Northwest, a Hanford watchdog group.

The state can investigate, he said.

"I would like CCSI removed and to revert back to Labor and Industry," Immele said.

He's had to wait 14 to 18 months for claims to be paid and has had to hire an attorney, even though DOE said that hiring CCSI would make filing claims easier for workers, he said.

Janet Peterson said she and her husband have spent about $2,000 on attorney fees with no way to recoup the money. But CCSI's attorney fees are reimbursed by DOE, she said.

"Workers deserve better," she said.

More than 100 people attended the meeting, although several dozen represented Hanford contractors and government agencies with responsibilities at Hanford. Topics raised included retirement benefits, how cleanup standards will be set at Hanford and saving B Reactor, the world's first production-scale reactor, as a museum.

But about half the people who stood in line to take the microphone raised issues about CCSI.

2005 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press and other wire services.