Lawmakers Call on DOE to Better Protect Hanford Workers From Tank Vapors

Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Rep. Adam Smith, all Washington Democrats, sent a letter to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz on Friday urging DOE to better protect Hanford workers from tank farm chemical vapors. The letter asked when an implementation plan for the Hanford Tank Vapors Assessment led by the Savannah River National Laboratory would be completed and asked that the plan include a clear schedule for near-, mid- and long-term recommendations. It also encouraged DOE to add a specific line item in the fiscal 2016 budget request and future budget requests to ensure funding for the plan. The letter also urged DOE “to institutionalize the improvement in workforce safety that result from this process to ensure that lessons learned and best practices gained continue from contractor to contractor.”

DOE said in a previous statement that it will use the results of the Hanford Tank Vapors Assessment Report to institutionalize improvements to ensure enduring changes are made to the tank farms and … industrial hygiene programs that will protect workers in the near term and into the future.” Washington River Protection Solutions said earlier this month that it expected a final implementation plan on the report’s recommendations to be released in December. However, that was before it received letters of intent to file lawsuits related to worker protection, which could open the door to the state of Washington, union Local 598 and advocacy groups being involved in discussions on what the implementation plan should include. WRPS presented a draft implementation plan last week to experts who worked on the assessment. Dave Olson, WRPS president, has said that he plans to run the implementation of recommendations like a project, with clear cost and schedule projections that can be reviewed and monitored.