The Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General says two major contractors at the Hanford Site in Washington State don’t always maintain respirators in accordance with government requirements.
The report said more attention to respiratory equipment is needed by Jacobs subsidiary, CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Co., and Amentum-led Washington River Protection Solutions.
CH2M is responsible for cleanup of the Central Plateau at Hanford and tearing down the Plutonium Finishing Plant, while WRPS manages, and treats radioactive tank waste and coordinates with Bechtel National, which is building the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant.
“We initiated this audit to determine whether Hanford contractors were adequately maintaining respiratory protection equipment to protect workers from exposure to hazardous materials,” the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) said in the report.
While the report did not specifically identify that unmaintained equipment was issued by either contractor, it did say that neither had documented controls in place to ensure that equipment received proper upkeep before being issued to workers in hazardous jobs.
Use of respirators without proper maintenance increases the risk that workers will inhale dangerous substances because the respirator does not work properly.
Managers at the two companies agreed with the OIG recommendations and plan steps to fix the problem.