The report, issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), details an investigation into the consulting and engineering firm, Tetra Tech Inc. It found that at least two individuals with the company “deliberately falsified soil sample surveys” at a California site in 2011 or 2012, during cleanup work for the U.S. Navy.
The investigation conducted from 2014 to 2015 also determined that during testing at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco, Tetra Tech failed to survey areas “that were reasonable to evaluate concentrations and potential radiological hazards of residual radioactivity.”
Despite the report, regional EPA representatives said there was “no concern” that the sampling conducted with Tetra Tech in Bridgeton was compromised in any way. That sampling examined homes on the 3500 block of El Ferrol Court after a couple living on the street filed a lawsuit in November alleging that household dust and soil showed elevated levels of radioactivity matching the signature of the nuclear waste in the nearby West Lake Landfill.
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The EPA’s relationship with contractors could be further complicated by actions taken Tuesday by President Donald Trump. A freeze was applied to the agency’s grants and contracts, subjecting billions of dollars of projects and partnerships to review. Regional EPA officials could not say what impact the action may have locally. Smith sought more information, but feared that it may threaten contractors such as the Technical Assistance Services for Communities, which helps distill hundreds of pages of tedious EPA documents into concise fact sheets upon request from the public.
“(If discontinued) that is an area that really hampers the public’s ability to understand what’s happening at the West Lake Landfill going forward,” said Smith.
It was also reported that the Trump Administration issued a separate notice Tuesday forbidding the EPA from communicating with the media. But as of Tuesday afternoon, Region 7 EPA personnel said they had not received such instructions.
Read more at Company that tested Bridgeton homes for radiation falsified similar sampling in California
