Testing done in recent weeks by the Department of Energy at the Hanford Site in Washington state has turned up no signs the foul odor encountered by workers around a tank farm was ammonia from tank vapors, an agency spokesperson said this week.
Following last month’s incident three employees were checked out at a Richland, Wash., hospital for fear they might have been exposed to contaminated soil at the site’s tank farms. That does not appear to be the case based on data collected since then, the DOE spokesperson at Hanford said.
“To date, analysis of all soil samples taken in the work area and in respirator cartridges workers wore on June 18, 2021 have come back with normal results,” the spokesperson said in an email this week to Weapons Complex Monitor.
Air monitoring on June 18th and enhanced monitoring put in place since then has not detected ammonia, an indicator that the odors did not come from tank vapors, according to the DOE spokesperson. “Air monitoring also has not detected chemical or radiological materials above background levels. We will continue to look into potential causes through additional air monitoring, soil sampling and analysis.”
Nine workers under the direction of contractor Washington River Protection Solutions were digging into the soil, preparing for installation of an asphalt barrier over Hanford’s TX Farm, the home to 12 underground single-shell waste tanks. After they smelled the odor all nine received an on-site evaluation for potential exposure and three of them were taken to Kadlec Medical Center in Richland for further testing.
