Washington River Protection Solutions has offered to move work shifts in the Hanford Site tank farms to the Department of Energy facility’s Thursday-evening-through-Monday-morning weekend shifts or to night shifts in response to union demands. Fewer workers are on site during those hours to be exposed to possible chemical vapors. Mark Lindholm, president of the tank farm contractor, sent a letter Thursday to the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council (HAMTC) in response to demands the union group made June 20, seeking to better protect workers from chemical vapors.
However, WRPS declined to expand use of supplied air respirators for routine activities within Hanford’s double-shell tank farms, as HAMTC had demanded.
The change in shifts could be made promptly, Lindholm said. However, HAMTC, an umbrella group for 15 unions for Hanford workers, would have to agree to make those the standard tank farm shifts, which would mean no premium pay for night and weekend work. If HAMTC agreed, WRPS would pursue a similar agreement with workers represented by Building Trades unions at Hanford. Lindholm estimated that the new shifts would be staffed with about 700 workers and the arrangement would continue at least through Sept. 30. By the end of the fiscal year WRPS has planned to finish implementation of the first phase of recommendations from the independent Tank Vapors Assessment Team (TVAT), which was led by Savannah River National Laboratory.
In recent months, about 53 workers at Hanford have received medical evaluations for possible exposure to chemical vapors from tanks that hold tens of millions of tons of chemical and radioactive waste produced during Hanford’s former plutonium production mission. Some workers smelled a suspicious odor, some had respiratory symptoms and others were in the vicinity of tank farms where vapors were suspected. Workers are concerned that exposure to chemical vapors could lead to long-term neurological and lung diseases.
There appears to be no basis for mandating supplied air respirators in the double-shell tank farms, based on WRPS’s technical evaluation, the independent TVAT assessment, and actions already being taken to better protect workers, Lindholm said. The double-shell tank farms have exhausters but most of the single-shell tanks are passively ventilated into the atmosphere, which makes emissions of chemical vapors more likely. WRPS now mandates workers use supplied air respirators when an elevated risk of chemical vapors is predicted. HAMTC has demanded that workers wear supplied air respirators inside all tank farms, both double-shell and single-shell, and in some areas outside the tank farm fences when a wide range of work is being done inside the tank farms that could increase the risk of chemical vapors.
WRPS has started planning for expanded protections when work that significantly disturbs waste is planned, Lindholm said. It plans to limit access of nonessential personnel, including on roads, with the help of postings, electronic reader boards, and other controls. It promises that all Hanford contractors will be notified when activities are planned that will disturb waste and increase the risk of chemical vapor emissions. It also has delayed plans to bring in additional office trailers at tank farm boundaries until at least the end of September.
HAMTC has demanded that the practice of using 60-minute bottles for supplied air respirators be ended immediately and that lighter 30-minute bottles be provided for workers. Lindholm said tank farm activities would be evaluated to determine which could be safely and effectively be performed with the lighter bottles. For those activities, 30-minute bottles would be provided to workers who requested them until bottles run out. The contractor is purchasing additional 30-minute bottles. WRPS also will have its Chemical Vapors Solutions Team and the HAMMER training center evaluate supplied air respirator harnesses to find ones that are lighter and ergonomically better. They also will evaluate other options to reduce weight, such as higher-pressure bottles that last longer, and breathing air compressors, Lindholm said.
“WRPS will always be steadfast in its commitment to employee safety,” Lindholm said in a message to employees that included a copy of his response to HAMTC. “I am also committed to maintaining a strong working relationship with HAMTC in safely delivering the tank farm cleanup mission that is of critical importance to the Department of Energy and all stakeholders.”
Dave Molnaa, HAMTC president, was not working Thursday and unavailable for comment. Although Molnaa has not said what HAMTC would do if its demands are not met, the organization has the power to stop work if it believes conditions for workers are unsafe. WRPS and HAMTC would have to reach agreement before the stop work order could be lifted.
The letter from Lindholm also listed the improvements in chemical vapor protection that WRPS has already undertaken. More sampling of vapors in tank head space has been conducted, with results consistent with previous sampling, Lindholm said.
WRPS has enhanced its industrial hygiene program, including increasing training, to ensure the program is executed with the same rigor and discipline as its radiological control program, he said. Testing of chemical cartridges is being done to see if workers could use them with air purifying respirators for the same level of protection as supplied air respirators. Engineering controls are being enhanced, including installing new exhauster systems and improved exhaust stacks. WRPS also has been working with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to test new equipment and is starting to deploy it to the field. The equipment includes small vacuum bottles for workers to collect air samples immediately if they suspect chemical vapors. Other new equipment is planned to be used to monitor and identify vapor plumes, including a mobile laboratory
