Possible actions to protect Hanford Site workers from chemical vapors could result in missed milestones under the Department of Energy consent decree mandate with Washington state for emptying single-shell waste storage tanks, according to a preliminary report. Kevin Smith, manager of DOE’s Office of River Protection, said in a status update last week he was notifying the Washington state Department of Ecology of the potential issue “in the spirit of cooperation and transparency.” DOE, which requested the report from tank farm contractor Washington River Protection Solutions, has asked for more information and clarifications as it continues to evaluate the document. It has not indicated it agrees with the findings of the preliminary report.
A federal judge set new consent decree milestones for Hanford cleanup six months ago. Smith said in his letter that a milestone to retrieve waste from five single-shell tanks would be delayed under certain scenarios from the end of 2020 to April 20, 2021. A milestone for retrieving waste from nine tanks in the A and AX tank farms, where infrastructure for retrieval is being installed now, would be delayed from March 2024 to March 2026, according to the preliminary report.
WRPS studied the impacts of requiring supplied air respirators for all workers inside Hanford tank farms and also extending the requirement to 200 feet outside the tank farms. Before DOE requested the report, the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council (HAMTC) had demanded that supplied air respirators be used 200 feet outside the tank farms during any work that increases the risk of a chemical vapor release. Washington state and other plaintiffs made a similar request in a lawsuit aimed at improving worker protection.
The WRPS report says extending the vapor control zone 200 feet beyond tank farm fences would have a greater impact on the budget and work schedule. It would require closing roads and establishing new roads; installing new fencing and access control boundaries; constructing new administrative facilities; and relocating critical operational facilities, including control rooms and access control enrollment and mask stations, among other infrastructure changes. With work delayed while the changes are made, some tank farm workers might be laid off, the contractor added.
The additional cost of using supplied air respirators for work within existing tank farm boundaries could be as much as $345 million, the preliminary report says. Expanding vapor control zones by 200 feet could cost $512 million to $769 million more, WRPS said. It recommended that the expanded boundaries be permanent to allow safe coordination of multiple large, complex projects, rather than temporarily establishing extended boundaries depending on scheduled work.
DOE initially requested the report after the HAMTC issued a stop work order within tank farms unless all workers in the farms were using supplied air respirators. However, after DOE requested the report, the union group conditionally lifted the stop work order if cartridges that filter chemicals can be shown to protect workers.
“Using the safety of workers as an excuse for missing more deadlines is pathetic,” said state Attorney General Bob Ferguson in a statement this week. His staff said Ferguson, who is running for re-election, was speaking on his own behalf rather than in his role as attorney for the state Department of Ecology. The Department of Energy said in a statement it will continue to provide updates to the state in subsequent letters or in the regular monthly or quarterly reports sent to the Department of Ecology. It has requested that Washington River Solutions expand information in its report by Oct. 5 to include underlying assumptions, along with priorities associated with milestones and any mitigation that might be done to meet tank waste retrieval schedules.
