Abstract
The fiftieth anniversary year of Brookhaven National Laboratory was momentous, but for reasons other than celebrating its scientific accomplishments. Legacy environmental contamination, community unrest, politics, and internal Department of Energy issues dominated the year. It was the early days of perhaps the most turbulent time in the lab’s history. The consequences resulted in significant changes at the lab, but in addition they brought a change to contracts to manage the Department of Energy laboratories.
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References
For the early history of Brookhaven National Laboratory, see Robert P. Crease, Making Physics: A Biography of Brookhaven National Laboratory, 1946–1972 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999).
In 1996 the New York State Department of Health had sampled the Peconic River, which is small stream as it crosses the lab, and found levels off-site of some radioisotopes which the report stated were far below levels of concern and not in need of remediation.
For the history of the HFBR, see John J. Rush, “US Neutron Facility Development in the Last Half-Century: A Cautionary Tale,” Physics in Perspective 17, no. 2 (2015), 135–55 and Robert P. Crease, “Anxious History: The High Flux Beam Reactor and Brookhaven National Laboratory,” Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences 32, no. 1 (2001), 41–56.
Health Physics Society Newsletter, October 1996, 15–16. This and other original documents are in the author’s possession unless otherwise noted.
Beth Greenfield, “Anti-Nuclear Activist/Helen Caldicott Issues a Warning,” Southampton Press, August 15, 1996, http://archive.southamptonpress.com/shpress/1996-3/96081521.htm.
Beth Greenfield, “Enemies of Brookhaven Lab Cite ‘Lies, Secrecy, Silence,’” Southampton Press, November 29, 1996.
John Rather, “High A-Levels in Water Spur Brookhaven Lab,” New York Times, January 26, 1997; Joe Haberstroh, “Brookhaven Lab Probe Sought,” Newsday January 24, 1997.
Interim Report on the Office of Environment, Safety and Health Oversight of the Tritium Groundwater Plume Recovery Activities at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, February 1997.
In 1948 Bernard Manowitz, an early lab employee, wrote a memo to Deputy Director Warren Winsche evaluating possible future environmental spills and recommended that facilities should be built in the center or northerly portion of the site to allow time to address them before they got off site. A 1954 BNL Progress Report stated the US Geological Survey was completing a several-year study of geology under the lab that confirmed that conclusion and that water underground was flowing no more than one foot per day.
Bernard Manowitz, BNL memo to Warren Winsche, April 19, 1948.
BNL press releases can be accessed at https://www.bnl.gov/newsroom.
Nine drilling companies were producing five-hundred samples a day to be analyzed for tritium.
When the plume was defined, it was concluded the leak had been about five gallons a day and had been going on for about twelve years.
Joe Haberstroh and Liam Plevin, “Down to Business,” Newsday, April 21, 1997.
“Report of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Environment Safety and Health Decision Making at Brookhaven National Laboratory,” April 29, 1997.
“Integrated Safety Management Evaluation of Brookhaven National Laboratory,” April 1997.
Joe Haberstroh and Liam Pleven, “Lab Appoints Interim Boss,” Newsday, April 29, 1997.
DOE Fact Sheet handed out at press conference May 1, 1997.
Associated Press, “Energy Secretary Throws Out Management at Brookhaven Lab,” May 2, 1997. Wagoner returned to his position at Richland after about three months at BNL.
Dan Barry, “U.S. Energy Chief Removes Manager for Brookhaven,” New York Times, May 2, 1997, http://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/02/nyregion/us-energy-chief-removes-manager-for-brookhaven.html; Liam Pleven and Joe Haberstroh, “Blame All Around,” Newsday, May 1, 1997; Andrew Lawler, “Changes at Brookhaven Shock National Lab System,” Science 276, no. 5314 (1997), 890; “Red Tape Must Not Strangle Good Science,” Nature 387, no. 6629 (1997), 114.
For example, Lawler, “Changes at Brookhaven” (ref. 20); Irwin Goodwin, “Peña Stuns Brookhaven Lab by Firing AUI Managers and Directing a ‘Mayday’ Message to All DOE Labs,” Physics Today 50, no. 6 (1997), 65; Irwin Goodwin, “Peña Vows to Speed Up Lab Reforms in Wake of Political Sharpshooting,” Physics Today 50, no. 10 (1997), 86.
Carson Nealy, letter to Lyle Schwartz, May 2, 1997.
Carson Nealy, letter to Lyle Schwartz, May 16, 1997.
In the letter, Nealy states: “The [override] decision is based upon significant events during the evaluation period which causes me to look beyond mere mechanical application of Appendix B [the contract requirements] procedure.”
Lyle Schwartz, letters to Carson Nealy, May 20, 1997, and May 23, 1997.
GAO has recently been renamed the Government Accountability Office.
Jordan Rau, “State Takes Closer Look at Lab,” Newsday, May 9, 1997.
Liam Pleven, “New Lab Worries,” Newsday, May 28, 1997. DOE subsequently made a statement that almost all employees would be retained by the new contractor.
F. James Sensenbrenner and George Brown, letter to Charles Bowsher, June 3, 1997.
Department of Energy, “Tritium Leak and Contractor Dismissal at the Brookhaven National Laboratory,” GAO/RCED-98-26, November 1997, https://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/PDF/gao111397.pdf.
Liam Pleven, “Brookhaven Lab Reassured / No Talk of Closing, Says Congressman,” Newsday, June 14, 1997.
Liam Pleven, “Activists: Pols Exploited Lab Leak,” Newsday, June 18, 1997.
Alec Baldwin, letter to the editor, East Hampton Star, July 10, 1997.
Michael Forbes, audio recording, July 14, 1997.
Liam Pleven, “EPA Cites Lab’s Lax Handling of Wastes / But Report Finds No Imminent Danger,” Newsday, July 23, 1997.
Liam Plevin, “New Tritium Problems at Brookhaven Laboratory,” Newsday, July 30, 1997.
Chau Lam, “Trial-Therapy Suit,” Newsday, August 21, 1997.
Bruce Lambert, “D’Amato Bill Would Shutter Lab’s Reactor,” New York Times, September 3, 1997, http://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/03/nyregion/d-amato-bill-would-shutter-lab-s-reactor.html.
Lauren Terrazzano, “Lawmakers: Don’t Reopen Reactor,” Newsday, September 3, 1997.
Federico Peña, letter to Al D’Amato and Michael Forbes, September 5, 1997.
Michael Forbes, letter to constituents, September 8, 1997.
Peter Bond, memo to BNL employees, September 19, 1997.
As an example, Alfonse M. D’Amato, letter to the editor, Newsday, September 29, 1997.
For example, Peter D. Bond, letter to the editor, The Village Times, October 2, 1997; Peter D. Bond, letter to the editor, Newsday October 3, 1997.
Two examples of the increased stress on employees: one made a telephone threat to an activist and another asked to step down from a position of authority.
“Independent Oversight Followup Review of the Status of Groundwater Plume Recovery Activities at the Brookhaven National Laboratory,” October 1997.
As a sidelight, the volume of water was an unknown, but from initial pumping I estimated the volume by the drop in water level. The environmental employees were surprised that I could do it and how close it turned out to be.
“ATSDR Announces Public Comment Period for the Brookhaven National Laboratory Site Health Consultation” press release, October 14, 1997, https://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/1997/atsdrpr101497.html.
Liam Pleven, “New Pressure on Lab / Critics Mobilize for Fight,” Newsday, October 18, 1997.
Karl Grossman, “Suffolk Closeup Arrogant Stance,” Southampton Press, October 2, 1997.
Alec Baldwin, letter to the editor, East Hampton Star, February 3, 2000.
Leon Jaroff, letter to the editor, East Hampton Star, February 10, 2000.
F. James Sensenbrenner and George Brown, letter to James Hinchman, November 10, 1997.
Liam Pleven, “Counting on Clean Record / SUNY’s New Lab Partner Praised for Fast Success,” Newsday, November 26, 1997.
Dennis C. Vacco, “Brookhaven National Laboratory at the Crossroads,” October 1997.
John Rather, “As Brookhaven Changes Manager, It Seeks New Role,” New York Times, November 23, 1997, http://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/23/nyregion/as-brookhaven-changes-manager-it-seeks-new-role.html.
Robert Birgeneau (MIT), William Brinkman (Bell Labs, Lucent), Paul Horn (IBM), Robert Richardson (Cornell), J. Robert Schrieffer (Florida State), Clifford Shull (MIT).
William J. Weida, “The Economic Impact of Operations, Cleanup and Conversion at Brookhaven National Laboratory,” December 5, 1997.
Helen Caldicott, audio recording, December 17, 1997.
Liz Smith, “Rourke the Good?,” Newsday, January 8, 1998.
Roger Grimson and Dawn Triche, “Report to the Suffolk County Legislature from the Brookhaven National Laboratory Environmental Task Force,” January 26, 1998, https://www.bnl.gov/docs/EnvTaskForce.pdf.
Charlie Zehren, “‘Montel’ Takes on Brookhaven Lab,” Newsday, January 9, 1998.
In 1999 a nationwide program was established to compensate DOE nuclear workers with specialized cancers who worked at DOE nuclear facilities. Although it was focused on nuclear weapons work, for some reason BNL was included on the list.
Elizabeth Kolbert, “Metro Matters; The Greening of D’Amato, Up from Zero,” New York Times, February 5, 1998, http://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/05/nyregion/metro-matters-the-greening-of-d-amato-up-from-zero.html.
Marburger’s perspective on the BNL events are given in chapter 3 of his book, John H. Marburger, Science Policy Up Close (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015).
Crease, “Anxious History” (ref. 3); Andrew Lawler, “Meltdown on Long Island,” Science 287, no. 5457 (2000), 1382–88.
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Peter D. Bond is a retired nuclear physicist who chaired the physics department at Brookhaven National Laboratory for ten years before his role in upper interim laboratory management during the events described here.
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Bond, P.D. The Fiftieth Anniversary of Brookhaven National Laboratory: A Turbulent Time. Phys. Perspect. 20, 180–207 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00016-018-0219-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00016-018-0219-x
Keywords
- Brookhaven National Laboratory
- Department of Energy
- High Flux Beam Reactor
- environmental activism