Legislation that would have made Hanford Site workers more likely to be awarded workers’ compensation has failed to pass out of a Washington state Senate committee. The deadline passed Wednesday for Senate committees to send House policy bills to the full Senate, under the Washington state Legislature’s 2017 session “cutoff calendar.” The state Senate Committee on Commerce, Labor, and Sports held a hearing on the Hanford workers’ compensation bill last week, but failed to schedule a vote on Substitute Senate House Bill 1723 before the deadline. The bill had earlier passed the state House in a 69-29 vote.
Republican Rep. Larry Haler, who sponsored the bill and represents key communities near Hanford, said some state senators believed the bill was too broad, leaving the legislation without enough votes to advance if a vote was held. The proposal would have required the state Department of Labor and Industries to assume a wide range of illnesses were caused by working at Hanford if an individual spent as little as eight hours anywhere on the Department of Energy site near the city of Richland. Workers now must provide medical proof linking an illness to a workplace exposure to the Department of Labor and Industries, which makes the final decision on workers’ compensation claims.
The Tri-City Development Council was among the bill’s critics. “Workers who become sick or injured on the job should be compensated,” said a letter from TRIDEC President Carl Adrian to the chairman of the Senate committee that heard the bill. But the proposed bill “is simply bad policy,” Adrian said. “It sets a statewide precedent, making it perfectly acceptable to establish special classes of workers and treat them differently than other workers in the state.”
The legislation would have created unusual challenges for businesses, including small businesses, that might do work at Hanford for only a short time, he said. Businesses would have to maintain a separate tracking and presumptive liability system for workers who spend as little as a day at the site, according to Adrian.
If the workers’ compensation system is not effective, the Department of Labor and Industries should work with DOE to correct the problem, Adrian said. “Special legislation should not be needed to address an administrative problem,” he said. Adrian recommended that the state not make changes until completion of a DOE Office of Inspector General investigation on Hanford safety requested by Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell (both D-Wash.). The findings of the investigation could suggest administrative or legislative action or no action at all, Adrian said.
Haler said he had anticipated his initial bill would not win Senate support and had a backup plan. This week he introduced an amendment to the state House appropriations bill that would add more Washington state Department Ecology oversight, using money from existing fees and service charges paid by DOE. The amendment would authorize Ecology to closely monitor DOE’s workers’ compensation program and to evaluate safety in the Hanford waste storage tank farms, where workers may be exposed to chemical vapors. The legislation also would stipulate that certain funding be used for public participation grants to nonprofits with designated seats on the Hanford Advisory Board.
Haler, who worked at Hanford for 40 years, said although his initial legislation failed, it gave a voice to ill Hanford workers and their families. He plans to meet with supporters and opponents of the bill after the legislative session to see if any common ground can be found.
Odor Incident
Three Hanford workers declined a medical evaluation after smelling a suspicious odor Thursday morning in a change trailer adjacent to the site’s SX Tank Farm. None had symptoms that would indicate exposure to chemical vapors associated with Hanford tank waste, said tank farm contractor Washington River Protection Solutions.
The three workers were at the change trailer, which had not been used recently, for a routine radiological survey. Because the change trailer is outside the SX Tank Farm the workers were not required to wear supplied air respirators. The nearby area was cleared of workers, but access restrictions were lifted later in the day after sampling showed the air was safe to breathe.
