Having workers use supplied air respirators with air lines that snake across the ground rather than heavy air tanks could be an option for some limited tasks at the Hanford Site’s radioactive waste storage tank farms, according to tank farm contractor Washington River Protection Solutions.
Workers have been testing use of air lines, including at the HAMMER training center and at the AP Tank Farm. The lines are attached to a manifold, which draws air from a compressor or large air bottle supply located in a clean environment.
Supplied air respirators are required for most work inside Hanford tank farms as protection against chemical vapors, and workers usually carry 30- to 40-pound oxygen tanks. An air-line system was tested as a means to ease the physical strain on workers, which could reduce injuries and speed up work. Air bottles might last just 30 minutes, which includes the time walking in and out of a tank farm to a task area, which limits efficiency.
The evaluation concluded that possibly 5 to 10 percent of tasks in tank farms are suitable for use of the air lines, such as hand excavation and long-term instrument monitoring. They could be a good alternative for small crews in a centralized area on simple to moderately difficult jobs, according to WRPS. Conditions that would limit widespread use of the air lines include obstacles that workers would need to manage the air lines around; the length of hose line that would be required; and having many workers involved, increasing the risk of tangled air lines.
No work in the tank farms is currently planned using the air lines.
