Washington River Protection Solutions has redesigned and expanded its website with information for the public and Hanford Site workers on chemical vapors at the Department of Energy facility’s waste tank farms. A team of union, professional, and management employees rebuilt hanfordvapors.com from the ground up, according to the tank farm contractor. “We are putting a priority on information, transparency and trust,” said Mark Lindholm, WRPS president, in a statement. The site is updated on a regular basis.
More than 50 Hanford workers last spring reported possible exposure to vapors from the tanks, which hold tens of millions of gallons of chemical and radioactive waste left over from plutonium production at Hanford.
The expanded website includes more complete information on technology WRPS is using or testing to protect workers. The technology includes vapor monitoring and detection systems, plume modeling software, and meteorological stations. The site maps the location of reports of suspicious odors or symptoms that could be linked to chemical vapors associated with waste in underground tanks, both with maps that show incidents across the facility and detail maps of each tank farm. It also includes sampling data from a new mobile laboratory and tank head spaces, but does not feature personal monitoring data to protect worker privacy. “This website allows interested parties to have an informed dialogue,” Lindholm said.
