Hanford WRPS Wins Voluntary Protection Program Innovation Award

Washington River Protection Solutions, the tank farm contractor at the Hanford Site, has received the Voluntary Protection Program Innovation Award for a tool its workers developed and built. The award was presented at the VPP Participants’ Association national conference in Grapevine, Texas, last week. The tool helps reduce worker exposure during surveys of equipment used to retrieve radioactive waste from underground tanks. Long pieces of equipment that have been submerged in waste must be removed from tanks during retrieval work. Surveys are then performed to minimize workers’ exposure and to prepare for disposal of the equipment. The tool is made of lightweight piping with nine survey points built in to position electronic dosimeters so dose rates can be remotely recorded. The tool is moved down the length of the equipment until the survey is completed. Using the tool reduces the time required for a survey by 50 percent, according to WRPS. WRPS also received the VPP Star of Excellence Award for maintaining a recordable injury case rate 75 percent lower than the industry average. “These awards demonstrate not only the steadfast commitment of our employees to working safely on a daily basis, but also their continuous effort to improve worker protection,” said Dave Olson, WRPS president, in a statement.