Case No. VFA-0768

November 6, 2002

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Appeal

Name of Petitioner: Marlene Kangas

Date of Filing: August 16, 2002

Case Number: VFA-0768

On August 16, 2002, Marlene Kangas appealed a determination issued by the Richland Operations Office (Richland) of the Department of Energy (DOE) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, as implemented by DOE in 10 C.F.R. Part 1004. In her appeal, Ms. Kangas contends that Richland had failed to conduct an adequate search for documents that were responsive to a FOIA request that she had filed. For the reasons detailed below, we find that Richland conducted an adequate search for responsive documents and will deny the appeal filed by Ms. Kangas.

I. Background

Ms. Kangas filed a FOIA request with Richland in which she requested the Hanford Site employment record for her deceased father, Reuben Kangas. In this letter, Ms. Kangas indicated that her father had been a member of Local Union 598, Plumbers & Steamfitters, and worked for Standard Plumbing & Heating Company, a sub-contractor to J.A. Jones Construction Company. On January 28, 2002, Richland issued a determination letter in response to Ms. Kangas’ FOIA request which indicated that it was denying the FOIA request because it had been unable to locate any employment records.

On March 13, 2002, Ms. Kangas appealed this determination to the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) on the grounds that Mr. Kangas had worked at Hanford, Minnesota, and New Mexico and that Richland has failed to conduct an adequate search for her father’s records. When an official at Richland became aware of the appeal, she contacted Ms. Kangas and informed her that the DOE sometimes had other types of records on members of union halls and subcontractor employees even when no employment records could be located, and asked whether she would like to amend her original FOIA request to include her father’s medical and radiation exposure records. Ms. Kangas amended the request and soon thereafter Richland provided 58 pages of radiation exposure records. Ms. Kangas also received 125 pages of medical records, provided directly from the Hanford Environmental Health Foundation. Ms. Kangas appealed this determination because she believes that there should be more records which indicate that her father was exposed to radiation. She bases

this belief on the fact that she and her brothers remember that her father worked in “hot spots” and he would often tell his children that he had only worked for a short time before his badge indicated that he had too much radiation exposure. Her father also related that he would also be scrubbed down and not permitted to work until his radiation exposure level had decreased. Ms. Kangas indicated that she and her brothers had reviewed the records that had been provided and the records do not reflect the events that they remember. Ms. Kangas thus concludes that if an adequate search has been performed, Richland would have located additional radiation exposure records.

II. Analysis

We have held that a FOIA request deserves a thorough and conscientious search for responsive documents. When we have found that a search was inadequate, we have consistently remanded the case and ordered a further search for responsive documents. E.g. Eugene Maples, 23 DOE ¶ 80,106 (1993); Marlene R. Flor, 23 DOE ¶ 80,130 (1993); Native Americans for a Clean Environment, 23 DOE ¶ 80,149 (1993). However, the FOIA requires that a search be reasonable, not exhaustive. “The standard of reasonableness that we apply to the agency search procedures does not require absolute exhaustion of files; instead it requires a search reasonably calculated to uncover the sought materials.” Miller v. Department of State, 779 F.2d 1378, 1384-85 (8th Cir. 1985).

In reviewing the present Appeal, we contacted officials at Richland to ascertain the extent of the search that had been performed. Upon receiving Ms. Kangas’ amended Request for Information, Richland conducted a search of its radiation exposure and medical records in two separate record groups. According to Richland, all of its radiation exposure records are centrally located at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and all of its medical records are held at the Hanford Environmental Health Foundation. Both of these databases were searched by inputting Mr. Kangas’ name and Social Security number. Richland provided Ms. Kangas with all materials identified by this information and has indicated that there are no other locations that are reasonably likely to possess responsive documents. See Record of Telephone Conversation between Sarah Prein, Richland and Kimberly Jenkins-Chapman, OHA (October 23, 2002).

Given the facts presented to us, we are convinced that Richland conducted an adequate search which was reasonably calculated to uncover documents responsive to Ms. Kangas’ request. Accordingly, Ms. Kangas’ Appeal should be denied.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The Appeal filed by Marlene Kangas, OHA Case No. VFA-0768, on August 16, 2002, is hereby denied.

(2) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy from which any aggrieved party may seek judicial review pursuant to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B). Judicial review may be sought

in the district in which the requester resides or has a principal place of business, or in which the

agency records are situated, or in the District of Columbia.

George B. Breznay

Director

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Date: November 6, 2002