NISKAYUNA -- A federal investigation into radiation released during demolition of a research building at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory found workers felt pressed by bosses to ignore safety issues and get work done faster.

A draft report, filed by investigators for the Department of Energy and obtained by the Times Union, also concluded that Washington Group International, a private company performing work under a $69 million contract, made missteps that led to an "uncontrolled spread of radioactive contamination" during the Sept. 29 demolition of a tainted Cold War-era research building at the research complex.

The company was pushing to finish work three months earlier than first planned -- by September 2011 rather than December 2011 -- in order to receive an extra $32 million in federal stimulus funding awarded for the cleanup in April 2009.

Two years ago, Knolls began a cleanup of the radioactive soil that covers about five of the facility's 170 acres along the Mohawk River, including the demolition of two buildings dating to the early 1950s, when the federal government researched nuclear weaponry at Knolls.

WGI managers "created an atmosphere of fear among the work force not to speak up about issues of concern," according to the DOE report. Such pressure "appears to be driven by project supervision and management personnel ... brought into the project with the purpose of improving production."

The investigation also found "questionable document practices" by WGI managers, including handwritten changes to safety reports without evidence of when or by whom such changes were made.

The report does not address possible effects, if any, of the contamination on workers or areas outside the Knolls facility.

DOE spokesman Bill Taylor said, "DOE takes very seriously its commitment to holding our contractors accountable for the well-being of their workers and the community. The report is still in draft form but will detail what went wrong and provide the necessary steps the contractor must take to ensure that the project can continue to move forward safely as (DOE) completes its work."

On Sept. 29, workers were using heavy equipment to pull down Knolls building H2, which was part of the Separations Process Unit, where nuclear materials were handled for weapons research until the unit closed in 1953. The building included evaporation tanks where nuclear materials were handled.

The Knolls facility is divided into three sections: the upper level, which is near buildings G2 and H2; the lower level, which included a parking lot and a staging area for rail shipments; and the north field, which was used to store radioactive slurry waste.

The unit, which was operational for less than three years, focused on research into recovering uranium and plutonium from spent nuclear fuel.

"On the day of the event, there were workers at the site who felt unsure whether the (H2) tanks should be removed, but were afraid to express their concerns to members of management controlling the work," the draft report stated.

Workers breaking for lunch activated a radiation alarm when leaving the scene, and WGI staff found that four workers had unsafe levels of radiation on their boots, according to the report.

Rain was expected the next day, so workers sprayed a chemical fixative meant to keep materials from washing away. The next day, Sept. 30 and into Oct. 1, more than 7 inches of rain fell on the Knolls site.

Air samples taken Sept. 29 and Oct. 3 showed elevated radiation levels, and WGI "recognized that they had an uncontrolled spread of radioactive material."

On Oct. 5 and 6, tests of the H2 building's slab found that beta/gamma radiation was 1,700 times the project-imposed safety limit, and alpha radiation was 550 times such limits.

According to the report, the Office of Naval Reactors Laboratory's field office found that contamination had spread to a 2.3-acre area, where levels were at least 20 times standard limits for beta/gamma radiation. "Air monitoring samples taken down hill at the discharge area to the Mohawk River, although below any limit, indicated some low level of elevated radioactivity," the report stated.

In early October, the remnants of the H2 building were covered with tarps. Demolition work has not resumed.

Washington Group International is an affiliate of URS, a San Francisco-based cleanup company. Calls to URS were not returned.

DOE appointed an investigation board on Oct. 22 to look into the mishap. The board arrived at Knolls on Oct. 28 and finished its investigation on Nov. 11.

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The investigation panel -- headed by T.J. Jackson, head of logistics management at the Energy Department Office of Environmental Management -- also concluded that:

Federal and WGI oversight programs were ineffective in identifying and correcting safety and health problems.

Vague contract language such as "as required" and "as necessary" contributed to WGI's failure to "complete work steps as intended."

WGI had "overconfidence" that its chemical fixative would stop contamination from demolition debris getting into the air and water.

There was a "lack of rigor" in executing the cleanup

Cleanup officials did not "recognize the importance of understanding historical process and system knowledge."

Brian Nearing can be reached at 454-5094 or at bnearing@timesunion.com.