Dick Cheney sure did create a powerful, well-managed company, didn’t he? His Halliburton is clearly deserving of lucrative, no-bid contracts. It’s not as if Halliburton has lost track of nuclear material for months without telling anyone, right? Oh wait.
A Halliburton Co. shipment of radioactive material went missing in October but the company didn’t alert government authorities until this week, Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials said Thursday.
The material — two sources of the element americium, used in oil well exploration — was found intact Wednesday in Boston after an intense search by federal authorities. NRC and Halliburton officials say the public never was in danger.
It’s the kind of development that boosts confidence in the government and its contractors, doesn’t it?
NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said Halliburton did not notify the agency about the missing material until Tuesday. Depending on the material, government rules require notification either immediately or within 30 days.
“The focus through today was on trying to find the material,” Sheehan said. “We’re going to be pressing them why the notification was not more timely.”
Oh good, Halliburton will be “pressed” by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; I’m sure the company is terrified. Since Halliburton can already get away with just about anything, and continues to get paid handsomely regardless of performance, does anyone really believe there’ll be adverse consequences for losing track of dangerous radioactive materials?