Plaintiffs and defendants in the lawsuit over chemical vapors protection for workers at the Hanford Site in Washington state have asked for another delay in the trial as they try to reach a settlement agreement.
The trial already has been postponed twice to allow the parties to pursue mediation. Now, the sides have asked U.S. Judge Thomas Rice of U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington to postpone the start of the bench trial from April 9, 2018, to June 11, 2018. Interim deadlines also would be delayed for at least two months, including the current June 19, 2017, deadline for plaintiffs to submit expert reports.
The state of Washington, watchdog group Hanford Challenge, and Plumbers and SteamfittersLocal Union 598 filed lawsuits in September 2015 seeking better protection of Hanford workers from chemical vapors associated with millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste held in tanks. Their claims would be heard in a single trial. The defendants are the Department of Energy and Washington River Protection Solutions, the Hanford tank farm contractor.
The parties said they made progress toward a settlement in a second round of mediation talks, held May 18-19. But, in the absence of an agreement, additional mediation sessions have been scheduled for July 13-14 and Aug. 1-3.
