Letter: Disappointed with series on hazards of working on nuclear sites

I have been highly disappointed with Tri-City Herald recent articles on the hazards of working on the DOE nuclear sites. The Herald previously maintained a fair balance in their articles, but not in this series. I spent my 37-year career working on DOE sites with nuclear waste and environmental issues and have always felt that DOE and the contractors were very concerned about worker and public safety.

The articles seem to project the assumption that anything nuclear should have zero risk. However, we live in a risk-filled world. Zero risk is not something that is obtainable in any activity. If one compares the risk on the sites with the risks we take at home or getting to or from the site, you find that you are much safer at work.

Most of us willingly accept rather high risks by going out on the highway. We can avoid the highway risks by just sitting in our cars in the garage, but most of us choose otherwise. My major criticism of DOE is that too many of the recent managers would rather park the car in the garage so that they don’t have any safety issues on their watch.

This story was originally published December 24, 2015 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Letter: Disappointed with series on hazards of working on nuclear sites."