Possible actions to protect Hanford Site workers from chemical vapors could lead to missed milestones under the Department of Energy consent decree with Washington state for emptying single-shell waste storage tanks, according to a preliminary report. Kevin Smith, the manager of the Department of Energy Office of River Protection, said he was notifying the Washington state Department of Ecology of the potential issue “in the spirit of cooperation and transparency.” DOE, which asked tank farm contractor Washington River Protection Solutions to prepare the report, has asked for more information and clarifications as it continues to evaluate the document. It has not indicated it agrees with the findings of the preliminary report.
A federal judge set the new consent decree milestones at issue six months ago. Smith said in his letter that a milestone to retrieve waste from five single-shell tanks would be delayed under certain scenarios from the end of 2020 to April 20, 2021. A milestone for retrieving waste from nine tanks in the A and AX Tank Farms, where infrastructure for retrieval is being installed now, would be delayed from March 2024 to March 2026, according to the preliminary report.
WRPS studied the impacts of requiring supplied air respirators for all workers inside Hanford tank farms and also extending the requirement to 200 feet outside the tank farms. Before DOE requested the report, the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council had demanded that supplied air respirators be used 200 feet outside the tank farms during any work that increases the risk of chemical vapors being released. A lawsuit brought by the state of Washington and other plaintiffs to address worker protection makes a similar request.
The WRPS report says extending the vapor control zone 200 feet beyond tank farm fences would have a greater impact on the budget and work schedule. It would require closing roads and establishing new roads; installing new fencing and access control boundaries; constructing new administrative facilities; and relocating critical operational facilities, including control rooms and access control enrollment and mask stations, among other infrastructure changes. With work delayed for the changes, some tank farm workers might be laid off, it said.
