The Department of Energy spent millions of dollars
over a 32-month period defending its contractors from the public. A
DOE internal document says that the agency paid $47 million to
private attorneys from Oct. 1, 1990, through May 31, 1993, to
defend its private contractors from class action lawsuits. The
suits charged firms such as Rockwell International and Dow Chemical
with releasing radioactive and chemical contaminants into the air
and water and sought money for medical care, health-monitoring and
damages. When the DOE paid law firms to fight lawsuits at plants at
Rocky Flats, Colo., Los Alamos, N.M., and Hanford, Wash., legal
fees for the defense of the nuclear contractors soared to $7
million, $2.2 million and $19.7 million respectively. The Military
Production Network, an alliance of organizations concerned about
nuclear bomb production and waste clean-up, received and released
the leaked document. For a copy of the 19-page report on Contractor
Litigation and Outside Council Fees, contact Bob Schaeffer with the
Military Production Network at
617/489-0461.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Public foots DOE bill.
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