Despite progress made to address vapors from radioactive waste storage tanks at the Hanford Site in Washington state, union worker concerns have not decreased, according to a new review from the Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA). The review largely echoed findings released in late November by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
There has been progress in some areas to improve vapor protections for workers, the DOE office found. But despite “considerable time and effort to improve communication protocols regarding vapor issues,” union workers’ concerns are little changed since 2014, when another independent study under the leadership of the Savannah River National Laboratory was released, the new report says. “Many workers perceive that management does not acknowledge the health risk associated with such (chemical vapor) releases, and these perceptions contribute to erosion of trust between workers and management,” according to the latest report. “Several workers expressed concerns about retaliation – both from management and from peers – if they raise issues regarding tank vapors.”
Hanford stores 56 million gallons of chemical and radioactive waste in its tank farms, the byproduct of decades of plutonium production for the nation’s nuclear deterrent. Exposure to vapors from the tanks has been a longstanding concern, leading Washington state and two co-plaintiffs to sue for increased worker protection measures. More than 50 Hanford workers reported potential exposures last spring.
The Office of Enterprise Assessments’ conclusions on worker attitudes were drawn from focus groups conducted five months ago. There site has subsequently made progress on pilot testing of new vapor monitoring and detection equipment, and cartridges are being tested to see if they can filter vapors as an alternative to supplied air respirators. In addition, tank farm contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) launched a website at hanfordvapors.com to improve communication with workers and the public.
The DOE report acknowledges that managing tank farm vapor issues is a challenge given longstanding, complex issues in vapor characterization and the identification and control of fugitive releases, plus potential worker exposures. “To further compound the challenge, the current environment involving lawsuits, injunctions, press inquiries and extensive coverage, union stop-works, congressional oversight, and multiple internal and external reviews creates another barrier to open communication on key issues,” the document says.
Despite these challenges, senior management at DOE’s Office of River Protection and Washington River Protection Solutions have demonstrated their commitment to addressing recommendations made in the 2014 independent study by providing funding, effort, and staff resources, the new report says. They have developed an implementation plan to better protect workers by relying more on technology and engineered controls, rather than personal protective equipment and administrative measures, it adds. “Overall, most of the planning decisions were appropriate,” the EA review concludes.
Most aspects of the industrial hygiene program are sound and are improving, the Office of Enterprise Assessments said. But it added that some workers have negative perceptions of the capabilities and training of recently hired industrial hygiene technicians who monitor for vapors, including some of the new industrial hygiene technicians themselves. Much of the tank farms workforce has more confidence in the radiological protection program than measures to safeguard workers from chemical vapors, the report says.
The review makes a number of recommendations for improvements. Workers should be reassured that managers want and need to hear their ideas on tank farm vapor issues and will not tolerate any form of retaliation for raising issues from either management or fellow workers, the report says. The office recommended increasing the number of radios available so every worker entering a tank farm receives timely notification of any report of possible chemical vapors. Improvements in the industrial hygiene program recommended in 2014 should be expedited, including additional headspace sampling in waste tanks that pose the greatest risk to workers and further development of short-term chemical exposure limits.
“We are evaluating the OEA report and will use its results to improve our future work,” WRPS President Mark Lindholm said in a message to employees Monday. He said management is working with union representatives to find additional ways to protect workers. The contractor also is improving transparency and communication with Hanford personnel, according to Lindholm.