Hanford workers report symptoms after waste spill

RICHLAND — Seven workers at the Hanford nuclear reservation have reported symptoms they believe resulted from exposure to hazardous chemical and radioactive waste that spilled from a tank in July.

Symptoms included upper respiratory problems, upset stomachs, headaches, dizziness, eye irritation and blurred vision.

The Energy Department contractor in charge of Hanford's tank farms, CH2M Hill Hanford Group, said it does not believe workers were exposed to enough chemicals to be harmed. Still, "we're keeping an open mind on this," said Thomas Anderson, CH2M Hill director of environmental health.

Hanford's occupational health provider, AdvanceMed Hanford, has offered help to roughly 60 people who were in the vicinity of the leak.

"Right now I can't find a connection, but that doesn't mean there isn't one," said Dr. John Calcagni, acting medical director for AdvanceMed Hanford. "I'm not going on the assumption they are not related. I'm going on the assumption they might be because of the time and proximity [to the spill]."

The spill occurred after a new pump installed in Tank S-102 clogged. The tank is one of 142 underground tanks holding highly radioactive wastes from the past production of plutonium at Hanford.

Workers briefly operated the pump in reverse, which may have pushed waste up a water line that was not intended to contain the waste.

CH2M Hill believes that 115 gallons spilled from the line. The spill was sealed, but a plan must be developed to clean up the material from soil where it spilled, and eventually the equipment will be removed from the tank to determine exactly what went wrong.

The company has brought in outside experts in toxicology as well as health physicians to review the data and work with employees, said Joy Shoemake, spokeswoman for CH2M Hill.