Despite progress made to address vapors from waste storage tanks at the Hanford Site in Washington state, union worker concerns have not decreased, according to a new review from the Department of Energy Office of Enterprise Assessments. The review largely echoed findings released in late November by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
Progress has been made in some areas to improve vapor protections for workers, the DOE office found. But despite “considerable time and effort to improve communication protocols regarding vapor issues,” union workers’ concerns are little changed since 2014, when another independent study under the leadership of the Savannah River National Laboratory was released, the new report says. “Many workers perceive that management does not acknowledge the health risk associated with such (chemical vapor) releases, and these perceptions contribute to erosion of trust between workers and management,” according to the latest report. “Several workers expressed concerns about retaliation – both from management and from peers – if they raise issues regarding tank vapors.”
Conclusions on worker attitudes were drawn from focus groups held five months ago. Since then progress has been made on pilot testing of new vapor monitoring and detection equipment and cartridges are being tested to see if they could be used to filter vapors as an alternative to supplied air respirators. In addition, a website has been launched at hanfordvapors.com to improve communication with workers and the public.
The report acknowledges that managing tank farm vapor issues is a challenge because of longstanding, complex issues in vapor characterization and the identification and control of fugitive releases, plus potential worker exposures. “To further compound the challenge, the current environment involving lawsuits, injunctions, press inquiries and extensive coverage, union stop-works, congressional oversight, and multiple internal and external reviews creates another barrier to open communication on key issues,” the document says.
“We are evaluating the OEA report and will use its results to improve our future work,” said Mark Lindholm, president of Hanford tank farm contractor Washington River Protection Solutions, in a message to employees Monday. He said management work working with union representatives to find additional ways to protect workers. The contractor also is improving transparency and communication with Hanford workers, according to Lindholm.
