Staff Reports
WC Monitor
1/22/2016
A federal judge this week combined two lawsuits filed against the Department of Energy and its Hanford Site waste storage tank farm contractor over worker protection from chemical vapors. Lawsuits were filed in September by the state of Washington and by Hanford Challenge filing jointly with Plumbers and Steamfitters Local Union 598. During a hearing, Judge Thomas Rice of the U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington also set a bench trial for May 22, 2017, at the Richland federal courtroom. It could last 10 to 15 days. Neither the defendants nor plaintiffs requested a jury trial. Initial disclosures are due next month, followed by a June 1, 2016, deadline for adding parties.
The plaintiffs had requested a trial date of no later than mid-March 2017. That would be somewhat aggressive but achievable and necessary given the potential for more worker exposures, they said. DOE and Washington River Protection Solutions asked for a June 2017 trial date, allowing them adequate time to prepare for trial or for the parties to make a meaningful attempt at settlement before trial. All parties said in a joint report to the court that they might engage in settlement negotiations, but that the likelihood of settlement is unclear. The parties anticipate that motions by either the plaintiffs or defendants for summary judgment could narrow the scope of issues in dispute. The state and the second plaintiff group filed similar claims for worker protection, asking the court to take action that would eliminate danger to workers. Hanford Challenge and Local 598 also asked for ongoing comprehensive medical monitoring of past and present Hanford workers and communication of complete information to workers and the public about vapor exposure incidents.
The Department of Energy and WRPS each have filed initial responses to the lawsuit. DOE said the court lacks jurisdiction over some or all of the plaintiffs’ complaints. It also said the claim by Hanford Challenge and Local 598 should be dismissed because the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) bars citizen lawsuits when a state or federal agency is actively prosecuting a civil action. WRPS said the plaintiffs failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted and that allegations were not included in the notices of intent to sue. It agreed with DOE that the federal court lacks jurisdiction. The plaintiffs lack standing for the litigation because there is no actual endangerment to health or the environment as required by law, WRPS said. WRPS said it has complied with all local, state and federal regulations and laws. It also challenged plaintiffs’ ability to rely on RCRA because vapors do not fit the act’s definition as either hazardous waste or solid waste.
The lawsuits were filed after about 50 Hanford workers received medical evaluations over about 18 months because of possible exposure to chemical vapors from the Hanford tank waste. Workers continue to be exposed to dangerous chemical vapors and have suffered health effects, plaintiffs said in court documents. WRPS began implementing recommendations to better protect workers as outlined in a review commissioned from the Savannah River National Laboratory before the lawsuits were filed. It is requiring workers to wear supplied air respirators for most work in the tank farms until better protection is in place.
