The parties to a federal lawsuit on protection of Hanford Site workers from chemical vapors are requesting another trial delay while they pursue a settlement agreement. Plaintiffs and defendants asked U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice on Wednesday to postpone the trial from June 11, 2018, to July 25, 2018. It is the fourth trial delay they have sought since agreeing to start mediation in January. The trial at that time was set for October 2017.
The two most recent mediation sessions, held July 13-14 and Aug. 1-3, resulted in progress toward a settlement, but no agreement, according to court documents. The parties said they want more time for mediation or further settlement discussions.
Without another trial delay, the parties would need to start meeting interim deadlines, include a Sept. 1 deadline for plaintiffs’ expert reports and a Nov. 1 deadline for defendants’ expert reports.
The state of Washington, watchdog group Hanford Challenge, and the Plumbers and Steamfitters Local Union 598 sued the Department of Energy and its waste storage tank farm contractor, Washington River Protection Solutions, in October 2015.
Washington state says workers have been sickened for decades by exposure to chemical vapors associated with tank waste produced by plutonium production for nuclear weapons. The lawsuit asks the court to take actions to eliminate danger from tank vapors, which could include independent oversight, improved controls to prevent chemicals from entering the environment, better monitoring, and expanded requirements for workers’ use of supplied air respirators. Increased use of supplied air respirators in the last year has significantly reduced the number of reported possible vapor exposures in central Hanford.
