Stimulus cleanup funds raise local tensions
JAN 07, 2010
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.023987
NYTimes.com : Earlier this year, the Savannah River nuclear site in Aiken, South Carolina , won one of the biggest pots of stimulus money, $1.6 billion , to accelerate its cleanup of radioactive waste left behind after decades of producing materials for the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. But the pressure to spend the money quickly and effectively has led to a series of bitter disputes among officials that burst into public view this fall after the tensions reached critical mass.At the heart of the dispute is the question of whether officials in Washington or at the site can do a better job managing the cleanup. The tensions have spurred a wide-ranging investigation by the Department of Energy’s inspector general and a host of bitter accusations, including one that led to an inquiry into whether one stimulus official had really threatened another by saying she wanted to shoot him. Related news story Federal stimulus funds hard at work at nuclear facility Augusta Chronicle
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