RICHLAND, Wash. – A Hanford watchdog group is concerned with what it calls a “revolving door” for top managers at the nuclear site in southeast Washington.
Recently the U.S. Department of Energy announced it’s replacing the man in charge of cleaning up leaky underground tanks of radioactive waste after just 18 months on the job. That manager also oversees construction of a $12 billioncwaste treatment plant.
In Seattle, the head of the group Hanford Challenge, Tom Carpenter, says there have been too many leadership changes.
“Having that many managers come in and leave, and come in and leave and come in and leave, leaves no accountability for the public or for the site. And at the end of the process if it doesn’t work, who are you going to hold accountable for this?”
Former Air Force officer and Los Alamos manager Kevin Smith will be taking over for Scott Samuelson. The government press release announcing the changes didn’t give specifics for shuffling managers.
he new guy starts at Hanford in January.
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