13.05.2014 Views

Chernobyl Nuclear Accident Congressional Hearings Transcript

Chernobyl Nuclear Accident Congressional Hearings Transcript

Chernobyl Nuclear Accident Congressional Hearings Transcript

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

94<br />

Statement of<br />

Edward E. Purvis, III<br />

Principal Engineer<br />

Los Alamos Technical Associates, Inc.<br />

July 22, 1992<br />

Mr. Chairman, my name is Ed Purvis. I am a principal engineer with Los Alamos Technical Associates<br />

(LATA), an environmental sciences and engineering firm that provides technical services to industry and<br />

government agencies. Our principal work is in the fields of hazardous and radioactive materials handling<br />

and processing, national security, the environment, and nuclear safety. LATA has appeared in the Inc. 500 .<br />

an elite group of the nation's fastest growing companies, and has been in the Enoineering News Record's<br />

list of the top 500 design firms since 1 981 .<br />

programs in Russia and in Ukraine.<br />

LATA is cun-ently involved in nuclear safety and nuclear cleanup<br />

In 1986, I led the Department of Energy's Analysis Team's work to understand the <strong>Chernobyl</strong>-4<br />

accident. Subsequently, we did extensive and detailed analyses and reviews of the safety of the <strong>Chernobyl</strong><br />

type reactors, of the various models of WERS (Soviet designed pressurized water reactors) and other Soviet<br />

designed nuclear facilities. Results were published in DOE/NE-0076, which addresses the <strong>Chernobyl</strong><br />

accident, and DOE/NE-0084 and DOE/NE-0084 which address WERs. My recent activities have included<br />

waste management, nuclear safety, and work related to cleaning up the aftermath of the ChernobyI-4<br />

accident.<br />

I was assisted in the preparation of this statement in regard to health effects of the <strong>Chernobyl</strong> accident<br />

by Dr. Marvin Goldman, who is extremely knovirfedgeable in this area. He is the leader of the US/USSR joint<br />

working group on health effects. He is Emeritus Professor of Radiology at the University of California at<br />

Davis, recipient of the Health Physics Society's Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award, and has chaired<br />

many committees assessing health effects of radiation.<br />

I<br />

appreciate this opportunity to discuss the <strong>Chernobyl</strong> accident and its results, the current status, the<br />

continuing threat posed by the results of the accident, particularly in the area near the sarcophagus covering<br />

Chemoby1-4. It Is necessary to understand the accident sequence in order to understand the resulting and<br />

current situation.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!