Hanford Site tank farms contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) has cut back on work to prepare the A and AX tank farms for waste retrieval following the mandate that more work be conducted on supplied air respirators. The Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council (HAMTC) on July 11 issued a stop work order inside all Hanford waste storage tank farms unless workers are wearing supplied air respirators to better protect them from chemical vapors. However, WRPS lacks a sufficient number of the respirators to continue all work that was underway at the start of the summer. Some work in double-shell tank farms was being done without requiring the gear.
The company has prioritized some operations since the stop work order was issued. It is placing the highest priority on continuing waste retrieval from single-shell tanks in the C Tank Farm, emptying waste from a double-shell tank with an interior leak, and conducting work on exhausters in the AP Tank Farm. It placed a lower priority on work to construct and prepare infrastructure at the A and AX tank farms for waste retrieval from single-shell tanks after work wraps up at the C Tank Farm.
Not all work has been stopped at the A and AX tank farms, but enough has been halted that about 65 construction workers who were employed by subcontractors are out of work. All are members of building trades unions, which are not among the 15 unions under the HAMTC umbrella. WRPS said it has notified subcontractors of work plans so they can manage their workforces.
WRPS is purchasing more equipment, including 30-minute bottles to use with the supplied air respirators. HAMTC demanded the switch from 60-minute bottles to the lighter 30-minute bottles in June, and WRPS is complying with that demand. WRPS also is taking steps to expand the support services needed for work on supplied air respirators, including inspecting and cleaning the equipment after each use. There is no public estimate on when more equipment will be ready.
