INL whistleblower: ‘I became the bad guy’

A man who worked at the Idaho National Laboratory for more than 30 years has written a book describing alleged injustices from his former bosses.

Dennis Patterson describes these situations in his new book, “Department of Energy Whislteblower: Justice over Racial Discrimination and Ethics Violations in a Right to Work State.”

“I had an incredible career, I had challenges, I had opportunities to grow professionally,” he said.

But one day, Patterson received a call through the INL Ethics Hotline. On the other line was a contracted construction worker. Patterson’s career would take a drastic turn.

Patterson said the employee had been escorted from the facility by security without any explanation of termination or due process.

“I told him that I would do my best to look at the issues and get back to him. … and that’s when the trouble began,” said Patterson. “I became the bad guy. They (Battelle Energy Alliance and INL management) came after me, repeatedly.”

Patterson said BEA and INL management interfered with his ethics investigation by failing to disclose pertinent information.

“Instead of disclosing information, instead of being honest, instead of demonstrating integrity, managers (including senior managers) withheld evidence, made up evidence and refused to cooperate with my investigation as the ethics officer for the Idaho National Laboratory,” he said.

In an attempt to inquire about INL’s current ethics policies in relation to Patterson’s book and their ethics policies in general, the Idaho National Laboratory released this statement:

“We have not purchased Mr. Patterson’s book and therefore we are not in a position to respond to questions.”