Respiratory protection requirements have again been eased at a Hanford Site double-shell tank farm, with directives in some additional radioactive waste storage tank farms expected to be reduced later this summer, according to contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS).
Workers now are allowed to use full-face air-purifying respirators equipped with filter cartridges as protection from chemical vapors for some tasks in the AP Tank Farm. The double-shell tank farm has a recently upgraded ventilation system.
The air-purifying respirators may only be used for low-hazard work that does not disturb tank waste, which can increase the release of chemical vapors. Workers on other tasks will continue to use the more cumbersome supplied-air respirators, which usually requires carrying an oxygen tank.
In March 2017, WRPS and the Hanford Atomic Metals Trade Council (HAMTC), an umbrella group for 15 unions at the Energy Department nuclear cleanup site in Washington state, agreed that air-purifying respirators could be used for limited work in the AP Tank Farm. But in February, an independent third-party expert selected by HAMTC, StoneTurn, reviewed some additional data and raised questions.
With yet more data available in recent months on concentrations of certain chemicals in AP Tank Farm vapors, HAMTC and StoneTurn again agreed air-purifying respirators are appropriate for work such as routine radiological surveys, equipment calibration, and job set up and take down. Workers still may voluntarily upgrade to supplied-air respirators.
The change in restrictions comes as plaintiffs and defendants again failed to reach a settlement agreement in the Hanford vapors lawsuit after a federal judge granted the latest trial rescheduling request in April.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice, ruling on June 14, issued an 11th amended trial schedule at the request of parties in the case a day earlier. The new schedule extends the date of the trial from April 8, 2019, to June 24, 2019, to give parties more time to reach a settlement agreement. Interim deadlines in the case also have been extended for about two months, with the first deadline coming due Aug. 7, when plaintiffs must identify their expert witnesses.
