A federal judge on Tuesday denied a motion for a preliminary injunction to increase protections from chemical vapors for Hanford Site workers until a lawsuit is decided. Judge Thomas Rice of U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington denied all three of the measures requested by Washington state, the local watchdog organization Hanford Challenge, and Plumbers and Steamfitters Local Union 598. The plaintiffs “failed to make a clear showing to meet their burden that an imminent and substantial endangerment to health may presently exist,” Rice wrote in his order.
The judge cautioned that his preliminary injunction determination should not be read as a finding that Hanford workers have not been harmed by chemical vapors from waste storage tanks in the past. But safety measures in place now have prevented chemical vapor exposures since they were implemented, he said. The plaintiffs wanted the court to mandate use of supplied air respirators within tank farms; to expand the vapor protection area where the respirators are required to 200 feet beyond individual tank farm fences when waste is being disturbed within a tank farm; and to require the use of additional monitoring and alarming equipment during waste-disturbing activities.
The lawsuit filed against the Department of Energy and its tank farm contractor, Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), seeking better protection of Hanford workers, is scheduled to go to trial in September. The plaintiffs requested the preliminary injunction after dozens of Hanford workers reported potential exposure to tank-farm vapors last spring at the former plutonium production site. DOE and WRPS at the time instituted additional safety measures, including temporarily requiring personnel to use supplied air respirators within the tank farms.
Rice found that WRPS was making progress in testing and deploying new real-time vapor monitoring and detection technology. He also denied the request for a 200-foot expansion to the vapor protection area, finding the distance to be arbitrary and the change impractical. The plaintiffs had argued for the expansion, in part, because two workers reported a suspicious odor outside a tank farm in April 2016. DOE and WRPS had argued that the 200-foot expansion would be costly and difficult to implement. It would require relocating buildings and roads, would delay emptying single-shell tanks, and could result in worker layoffs, according to the contractor.
The parties to the lawsuit made cases for competing public interests in their arguments for and against the preliminary injunction, Rice said. “The public unquestionably has an interest in protecting the health and safety of individuals from toxic vapors and protecting the environment,” the judge said in his order. “The public also has a significant interest in ensuring the expeditious completion of the tank waste transfer work to protect individuals and the environment from irreversible damage.” He called cleanup at Hanford “a critical race against the clock,” and said potential delays were a key reason why he denied the request for a preliminary injunction.
Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Tuesday that as the state prepares for trial next year, he will be watching closely to make sure worker protections remain in place.
The judge said workers have always had the option of using supplied air respirators and whether they used the resource does not affect the court’s analysis. “There is simply no credible evidence before the court to suggest that the SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) mandate will cease pending trial to merit injunctive relief now,” Rice said. But Hanford Challenge said after Rice’s ruling that there was no guarantee that WRPS and a coalition of unions — the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council — will not change an agreement currently mandating the use of supplied air respirators. The judge’s decision “validates the need for permanent requirements that end the cycle of voluntary protective measures that have no enforceability and could end at any time,” said Tom Carpenter, executive director of Hanford Challenge.
The judge’s decision recognizes the steps WRPS has taken to protect worker safety and health, said WRPS President Mark Lindholm in a message to employees Tuesday. He quoted the Rice’s statement that WRPS has been “vigorously refining safety measures.” “It is, and always will be, my expectation that safety comes first for WRPS employees,” Lindholm stated. “We will continue to partner with the union in good faith to ensure our workforce is protected as we move forward with our important cleanup mission.”
In the lawsuit, the state is asking the court to order additional worker safety actions, which could include provisions for independent oversight, engineering and administrative controls, and personal protective equipment. Hanford Challenge and Local 598 are more specific in their lawsuit, now merged with the state’s, adding additional requests for independent expert oversight of Hanford’s industrial hygiene program to include employee training, sampling and monitoring protocols, quality control, worker protection policies, and personal protective equipment. They also want complete information about exposure incidents released to the public and a comprehensive medical monitoring program mandated for past and present workers.
DOE has argued that scientific and technical evidence show that enhanced worker protection is not needed. The plaintiffs have failed to show that tank farm vapors have led to serious health effects, a Department of Justice attorney said in a hearing before the judge in October. Symptoms reported in the field, such as headaches and coughing, are common in the general population, according to DOE.
