U.S. unveils report on problems at Hanford

Amid pressure from Washington state political leaders, the U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday released a closely held report that is critical of some work at a plant being built to clean up some of the worst contamination at Hanford's former nuclear-weapons factories.

But in the version released to the public, the department blacked out portions related to criticism of spending by Bechtel National, the contractor building the plant, and to contract disputes between the department and Bechtel, according to a complete copy of the report previously leaked to The Seattle Times.

The redacted sections detail disagreements between Bechtel and the Department of Energy (DOE) over responsibility for higher costs to deal with fire-proofing of buildings and the buildup of explosive hydrogen gas, among other things. The department also removed sections saying the current contract may be ineffective.

Bechtel was offered money to hold down costs or meet production quotas. Cost increases have largely killed Bechtel's chance to win some of those bonuses, the report warned.

The department also blacked out a section that said inspectors "saw little evidence that BNI [Bechtel National Inc.] has taken steps to minimize and control project costs and project growth."

Bechtel has disputed that, saying it is committed to controlling costs.

Demands for the report escalated last week after The Times published an article about the leaked report, which was completed in May by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The report said the cost of building the plant could rise from $5.8 billion to as high as $9.65 billion and could take four years longer than promised.

Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Washington Democrat who had demanded that the department release the report, said a redacted version was unacceptable.

"It's time to end the political maneuvering so we can get the job at Hanford done right," she said in a statement.

But reaction from U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, a Republican whose 4th District includes Hanford, and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., was less sharp. While both had called on DOE to be more open and release the report, neither was demanding a full version.

Jay Manning, head of the state Department of Ecology, chided the DOE for what he called "an excessive amount of secrecy." But he stressed the most important thing was for the DOE to move forward with the construction project.

In a letter accompanying the report yesterday, the DOE said it had blacked out sections that involved sensitive business information and which the government decided should be kept secret as the department decides what to do with the project.

"The redactions are minimal, and those redactions specifically deal with business and procurement-sensitive information," said DOE spokesman Mike Waldron.

The department has worked to provide accurate information to state and congressional leaders and others, he said. The report's authors have warned that some cost estimates couldn't be verified, he noted.

The plant is designed to help clean up 53 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste stored in underground tanks at Hanford, where plutonium for nuclear weapons was made for decades. But the work has been delayed for years by technical problems, cost overruns and other problems.

Warren Cornwall: 206-464-2311 or wcornwall@seattletimes.com