State review criticizes oversight at Hanford

By Hal Bernton
Seattle Times staff reporter

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A new state review faults federal monitoring of chemical vapors venting from Hanford storage tanks, vapors that some workers say have caused bloody noses, fatigue and other health problems.

The state review, released yesterday by Gov. Gary Locke and Attorney General Christine Gregoire, says it is unclear what materials are in the 177 underground tanks that store more than 50 million gallons of chemical and radioactive wastes.

Moreover, the review says there needs to be better measurement of potentially toxic vapors that could waft through tank vents.

Because of these problems, the state Department of Ecology says workers who labor near the tanks should be provided with supplied air, a move approved by an Energy Department contractor last month in response to health concerns. The agency also has asked for better management of the information now available on the vapors and for an industrial hygienist or toxicologist to analyze worker exposure to the vapors.

Federal Department of Energy officials said yesterday they had not had time to read the state review and thus could not comment on the findings.

Officials of federal contractor CH2M Hill said in a recent interview that they have never detected unsafe levels of ammonia or other toxic vapors around the underground tanks. They have said worker safety has always been a top concern. The company also has announced expanded monitoring that will include equipment to detect nitrous oxides.

Complaints increase

The tanks are grouped in "farms" and contain a mix of liquids, salt cakes and thick slurries left over from nuclear processing that produced materials for atomic bombs at the 586-square-mile Hanford nuclear reservation in Eastern Washington.

Some tanks are single-shelled and leak materials into the groundwater. But the more than 800 workers employed at the tank farms are pumping that waste into more secure double-shelled tanks.
 
After completion of a $5.78 billion waste-treatment plant, most of the wastes are scheduled to be mixed with glass and turned into solids for long-term storage in stainless-steel canisters.

In recent years, as the pumping has increased, workers have made more complaints about chemical exposure from vents placed in the tanks to allow vapors to escape.

Health concerns

The state review resulted from the release of a September 2003 report by the Government Accountability Project, which alleged 45 incidents of exposure involving 67 workers who sought medical care for headaches, nosebleeds, loss of breath, fatigue and other symptoms. Since then, the Seattle-based project office has investigated the cases of some 30 other tank workers who have had health concerns. The project also has started an investigation of health concerns among some workers at the construction site for the waste-treatment plant. The construction is about 1,500 feet, at its closest point, from the tank farms.

Tom Carpenter, a Seattle attorney who researched the September 2003 report, said the state findings validate "what we've been saying: 'Hanford officials do not know what is in the tank vapors that workers have been breathing.' "

He has called for new legislation that would allow independent federal oversight of worker safety at Hanford.

The Department of Energy is responsible for overseeing the cleanup and worker safety.

State officials have limited oversight of the Hanford cleanup. The state Department of Ecology is involved in the process of closing the storage tanks. And state officials, as part of that oversight, will be asking for more air samples to be taken, said Sheryl Hutchison, an Ecology Department spokeswoman.

In the state report released yesterday, the Department of Ecology said the Tank Waste Information Network System, used to help detail the contents of tanks, has minimal data and lacks quality assurance. The report also said there is not enough known about toxic gases that may be trapped within the tanks.

Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com