A Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) resident inspector watched an emergency drill at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state in August to see how crews might handle an earthquake that damaged facilities within the tank farms.
“An RI [resident inspector] observed an emergency preparedness event-scene limited drill simulating a seismic event followed by a partial dome collapse with multiple injuries,” according to a DNFSB staff report for the week of Aug. 7.
The resident inspector and managers from contractor Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure, LLC (H2C), “observed instances of radiological control weaknesses that were discussed in the subsequent post-drill meetings,” according to the report.
“Due to air quality concerns, certain activities usually evaluated during drills, such as doffing firefighter bunker gear were not conducted,” the DNFSB report said.
The same Aug. 7 report also said the DNFSB resident inspector is working with Hanford contractor teams to prepare for eventual resumption of transuranic waste shipments from Hanford to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico.
At some DOE sites this year, the department has limited the independent safety watchdog’s access to meetings and materials.