Audit concludes Hanford injuries reported correctly
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, April 29, 2004
YAKIMA — Federal contractors at the Hanford nuclear reservation largely reported workers’ exposures to chemical vapor correctly when recording injuries, an audit by the Energy Department’s Office of the Inspector General concluded.
The federal audit was one phase of a three-part investigation being conducted by the Inspector General at Hanford over allegations that contractors have endangered workers to speed cleanup of the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site.
The memorandum, dated April 19 and released on Thursday, concluded that Hanford contractors had for the most part correctly classified chemical vapor exposure cases documented in a September 2003 report by the Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit government watchdog group.
Associated Press
Ellensburg: Small burn worries fire officials
A small forest fire nine miles north of Ellensburg has fire officials worried because it burned so quickly so early in the season. The fire had burned an estimated 60 acres by Thursday and was about 30 percent contained, said Nick Mickel, fire information officer for the state Department of Natural Resources. The fire started Tuesday morning, though the cause remained unknown. A windstorm that blew through the region that day with gusts of up to 50 mph whipped the fire into a frenzy. Fire crews rushed to the area and stopped the fire within a half-mile of a dozen structures, mostly summer homes. The size of the fire isn’t what worries officials. The problem is the timing: It’s only April.
Associated Press
Forks: Low rainfall
worries state agency
Despite legendary humor over traditionally drenching weather conditions in Forks, firefighting agencies are not laughing at the lack of rainfall so far this year. In fact, the entire Olympic Peninsula could be in for a scary season, said Jim Heuring, district manager of fire operations for the state Department of Natural Resources. Heuring’s mind boggles at the statistics: Forks’ traditional average rainfall for April is almost 9 inches. So far in 2004, fewer than 2 inches have been recorded. The snowpack crowning the Olympic Mountains right now is only about 60 percent of normal. In response, Heuring is considering raising the fire-danger level to moderate and lobbying for a regionwide restriction on burning.
Peninsula Daily News
Seattle: Stryker brigade soldier dies in Iraq
A Stryker brigade soldier who could have come home after being wounded in Iraq has died after being hit in a second attack, friends and close associates said. Army Spc. Jake Herring, 20, of Kirkland died of wounds from a grenade attack west of Mosul, Iraq. The U.S. Central Command confirmed that a soldier died Wednesday following a rocket-propelled grenade attack outside Mosul the previous night, but did not give his name. Herring’s mother, Susan Sutter, said her son had just been promoted to sergeant.
Associated Press
Oregon: Gorge panel
permits weddings
Owners of Columbia River Gorge wineries, bed and breakfast inns, and other businesses in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area have won the right to host weddings and other commercial events. The Columbia River Gorge Commission, persuaded by last-minute appeals from gorge counties, reversed itself Tuesday and agreed to allow such celebrations on most private land throughout the scenic area. Paul Huber, who hosted seven weddings at his vineyard near Underwood before he was informed such uses were not permitted in the scenic area, said scenic protection goes hand in hand with attracting weddings and other special events.
The Columbian
