Three New Tank Farm Workers Report Vapor Exposure Symptoms
WC Monitor
4/3/2015
Three more Hanford workers reported symptoms late this week consistent with those caused by exposure to chemical vapors. Few incidents have been reported since workers have been required to wear supplied air respirators for much of the work at the Hanford tank farms over the last five months while improvements are being made to better protect workers from vapors. The three workers who reported symptoms, plus two other workers who reported an odor but did not have symptoms, were doing work that had been assessed as not requiring the supplied air respirators. The three workers with symptoms were checked by the Hanford medical provider and released to return to work the same day. The two workers with no symptoms declined medical evaluations, according to Washington River Protection Solutions.
The incident brings the number of workers medically evaluated for possible vapor exposure since last spring to about 56. There also have been some cases of workers reporting unusual smells which are not included in that number. At a Hanford Advisory Board committee meeting officials said some reports of odors had been traced to fumes from fuel being transferred or sewage being emptied from porta-potties. However, the number does include some earlier cases that may have been linked to spraying of weeds.
Workers Were at AY Tank Farm
The five workers involved in the incident this week were in the AY Tank Farm, where preparations are being made to empty Tank AY-102, a double-shell tank with waste leaking between its shells. Unlike single-shell tanks, the AY tanks are not passively vented to the atmosphere and no work was being done that would disturb waste. Disturbing waste and passive venting both are a risk for vapor releases. However, a cover block had been removed from at least one concrete-lined pit in the farm to allow work to be done in the pit. The pits may contain pumps or valves for waste lines. Three of the five workers were wearing full-face respirators to protect themselves from potential radiation. The other two workers were in an area where work did not require a respirator for radiation protection. One of the employees who reported symptoms worked for WRPS and the other four were subcontractor employees.
Although symptoms were not released because of health care privacy laws, workers typically report nosebleeds, headaches, watery eyes, increased heart rate, coughing, sore throats or dizziness. Some workers believe their long-term neurological or lung disease were caused by exposure to the vapors. WRPS is collecting and analyzing data to attempt to identify a source of the possible vapors reported this week. The contractor also is implementing 47 recommendations made in an independent review that looked at the vapor issue and how workers could be better protected.
DOE Transfers Wastewater Facilities from Richland Operations Office
WC Monitor
4/3/2015
Wastewater facilities at Hanford have been transferred from the Department of Energy’s Richland Operations Office to the DOE Office of River Protection for operation of the Hanford tank farms now and the Waste Treatment Plant in the future. “This is a great example of how we are aligning operations at the Hanford Site between both the Richland Office and ORP’s missions to ensure efficient use of facilities and good stewardship of taxpayer money,” said Tom Fletcher, ORP assistant manager for the tank farms. ORP took over operation this week of the Effluent Treatment Facility, the Liquid Effluent Retention Facility and the Treated Effluent Disposal Facility in central Hanford. About 45 employees of those facilities have transferred from CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Group to Hanford tank farms contractor Washington River Protection Solutions. Some employees took other jobs at CH2M Hill, and the tank farm contractor will be hiring to bring the staff for waste water related work back to about 80 workers.
Facility Upgrades to Begin This Fiscal Year
With the transfer of the facilities comes a need to make some significant upgrades, which will be started this fiscal year. The Effluent Treatment Facility has operated for 20 years, treating water contaminated with low levels of radioactive and chemical waste. It comes primarily from the 242-A Evaporator and Richland Operations Office facilities for groundwater treatment, waste disposal and the K Basins. The facility can treat up to 28 million gallons of waste water annually, but is not operating now because the heat exchanger needs to be replaced. Other improvements will need to be made to it to prepare it to receive waste water related to tank waste treatment operations that could start in 2022. It is expected to be used to treat some waste water collected from off gas from the melters in the vitrification plant’s Low Activity Waste Facility. It also could be used to treat secondary waste from the proposed Low-Activity Waste Treatment System. It is planned to be built outside the vitrification plant to prepare some low-activity radioactive waste for treatment before the entire plant is ready to operate.
WRPS to Increase Use of Effluent Treatment Facility
Washington River Protection Solutions also plans more use of the Effluent Treatment Facility as it continues to retrieve waste from single-shell tanks and double-shell Tank AY-102, which has waste leaking between its shells. The 242-A Evaporator reduces the amount of liquid waste in Hanford’s useable double shell tanks, allowing more waste from single shell tanks to be emptied into them. Water vapor from the evaporation process is captured, condensed, filtered and sent to the Liquid Effluent Retention Facility. The Liquid Effluent Retention Facility is used to hold contaminated waste water until it is sent to the Effluent Treatment Facility. Its three storage basins can hold about 23 million gallons of waste water. The Washington State Department of Ecology pointed out last year that the basins will reach their life expectancy this year.
The Treated Effluent Disposal Facility, also transferred to ORP, accepts the waste water after radioactive and hazardous chemical contamination is removed at the Effluent Treatment Facility. The treated waste water is discharged to two infiltration basins. The facility can collect and dispose of nearly 2 billion gallons of treated water a year.
