As if figuring out how to safely resume operations during a pandemic isn’t tough enough, the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state instructed many workers to stay home this week because of smoky air.
Smoke from regional fires prompted management at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state to tell some workers to stay home. The DOE did not specify how many.
Between Sunday and Thursday, Hanford management cancelled most shifts for nonessential workers north and south of the Wye Barricade, including Richland.
Due to reduced smoke and improving air quality, Hanford’s website on Friday indicated it returned to “normal” work schedules for staff approved to work inside the fence under Phase 2 of the site’s COVID-19 protocols.
But that comes with some caveats.
“Although levels of smoke have improved, staff are encouraged to monitor local conditions,” according to the notice. Employees should “use their judgment based on their level of sensitivity” and work with their manager to adjust their work accordingly. This includes telework if available.
The issue is primarily breathing difficulty, with an air quality index at the “hazardous” level, a Hanford representative said Wednesday. Visibility, at only about a quarter mile, has also been a concern, he added.
For much of the week, Hanford used only essential employees on-site needed to maintain minimum safe operations. Those deemed essential probably account for about 15% of the 11,000-member workforce at the former plutonium production facility. Most of the workers continue to telecommute, the representative added.
Cleanup operations at Hanford are in Phase 2 of DOE’s restart program, which aims to gradually resume pre-COVID-19 levels of operation. Once a DOE Office of Environmental Management site reaches Phase 3, it should attain almost pre-COVID operation levels. There was no timetable for moving to Phase 3, at deadline.
Wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington state have placed air quality in the hazardous range everywhere from San Francisco to Seattle, media reported this week.
