Nuke Site Workers Fear Health Problems 

SHANNON DININNY / AP 9apr04

RICHLAND, WA—Steve and Virginia Wallace know the symptoms of exposure to chemical vapors: headaches, nosebleeds, a metallic taste.

With a combined 30 years working at the Hanford nuclear site, the two respiratory equipment specialists believe workers there aren't being adequately protected.

The state and federal governments are investigating procedures at Hanford's so-called tank farms amid allegations that corners are being cut—and workers endangered—to speed cleanup of the nation's most contaminated nuclear site.

More than 90 workers have sought medical care for exposure at the tank farms in the past two years, according to data gathered by the Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit watchdog group. Few workers will speak publicly.

A 1997 draft report by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory concluded that the risk of contracting cancer from exposure to the vapors could be as high as 1.6 in 10.

In the industrial world, normal risk is for one worker in 10,000 to contract cancer from exposures in the workplace, according to Tim Jarvis, a former researcher at the laboratory and peer reviewer of the report. Jarvis now is a private consultant often contracted by the Government Accountability Project.

"The report shows that exposure to tank vapors is extremely hazardous and will most likely lead to fatal cancers in the workers if exposure is continued," he said.

"My own personal opinion is I'm not being protected," said Virginia Wallace, who takes samples inside the tanks. Her husband is an instrument technician. "People are afraid to seek medical attention. I've been scared."

For 40 years, the Hanford reservation made plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal. Today, work there centers on a $50 billion to $60 billion cleanup to be finished by 2035 under an accelerated schedule pushed by the Bush administration.

The most deadly waste, about 53 million gallons of radioactive liquid, sludge and saltcake, sits in 177 underground tanks less than 10 miles from the Columbia River. Plans call for turning much of that waste into glass logs and burying it at a nuclear waste repository.

Experts have identified as many as 1,200 chemicals, including some known cancer-causing agents, in the tanks.

CH2M Hill, the Colorado-based contractor hired to handle cleanup, and the Energy Department, which manages the cleanup, say most of the chemicals are diluted and pose no danger to workers. Only three—ammonia, nitrous oxide and butanol—have been found in the tanks' air cavities at levels exceeding occupation exposure limits, CH2M Hill said.

"No one has received a toxic dose of these chemicals," said Rob Barr, director of environment safety and quality for the Energy Department's Office of River Protection.

"We are concerned and they should be concerned," Barr said. But, he added, "We have a very high assurance that there are no long-term effects of the chemicals that are out there, because they are at such a low level."

CH2M Hill says the rising number of exposures are, in part, a result of educating workers about vapors and encouraging them to report unusual smells.

More than 800 people work in the tank farms for CH2M Hill. The total work force at Hanford is about 11,000 people.

Following four vapor incidents in two weeks last month—which sent nine workers for medical evaluations—CH2M Hill halted routine work in the tank farms. The company has restarted some work since, but employees who enter the tank farms must wear respirators.

Critics argue that respirators can't protect against all 1,200 chemicals.

Last month, the Energy Department began formally investigating the Hanford Environmental Health Foundation, the private contractor that monitors and provides health care to Hanford workers. The contractor has denied allegations that include fraud and medical-records mismanagement. Officials there did not return telephone messages seeking comment Friday.

A report CH2M Hill commissioned last fall by four independent experts cited failures to communicate procedural changes or safety issues about vapors.

Susan Eberlein, vice president of safety for CH2M Hill, said the company is continuing to educate employees about vapors and improve communications.

"We're trying to minimize exposures as much as possible," she said.

source: http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/text/2004/apr/09/040903296.html 10apr04

 

CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. 
H6-63
P.O. Box 1500
Richland, WA 99352-1505 
President & General Manager: Edward S. Aromi, Jr. 
Email: edward_s_jr_aromi@rl.gov

Background
(from Hanford 200 Areas Spectral Gamma Baseline Characterization Project - GJO-HGLP 1.7.1 / Revision 0 December 2002 Prepared for U.S. Department of Energy Grand Junction Office, Grand Junction, Colorado. Prepared by S.M. Stoller Corp., Grand Junction Office, Grand Junction, Colorado. Work performed under DOE Contract No. DE
AC13
02GJ79491.)

The 200 Area plateau is the site of chemical processing plants used to separate and recover plutonium and uranium from irradiated reactor fuel elements. In addition to highly radioactive waste stored in underground tanks, processing operations resulted in discharge of approximately 346 billion gallons (1.3 trillion liters) of chemically contaminated, low-activity liquids to the vadose zone in the 200 Areas. Scavenged waste from some high-level waste tanks was also discharged to the vadose zone. Much of this discharge occurred through ponds or engineered drainage structures such as cribs, tile fields, retention trenches, or reverse wells. Additional discharges to the vadose zone resulting from operator error or equipment failure are referred to as unplanned releases.

Burial grounds were established in the 200 Areas where solid wastes generated during Hanford operations in the 200 Areas and radioactive wastes from offsite have been stored. Radioactively contaminated solid waste includes waste generated by the failure or obsolescence of chemical processing equipment; construction and demolition activities; protective clothing, filters, and miscellaneous process related materials; contaminated soil, and other related material. Lowlevel radioactive solid wastes from other DOE sites and laboratories, universities, the military, and commercial companies involved in government programs are also stored in the burial grounds. Prior to 1980, liquid organic waste was disposed of in the burial grounds.

Numerous cased boreholes exist in and near waste disposal sites. Additional investigations in these boreholes and proposed boreholes are planned. Spectral gamma logging of these boreholes will provide valuable information regarding the nature and extent of vadose zone contamination associated with gamma-emitting radionuclides. Variations in naturally occurring radionuclides (40K, 238U, and 232Th) are also useful in stratigraphic correlation. Both the 200 East and 200 West Areas contain tank farms and liquid waste sites in close proximity to each other. The key geophysical characterization data provided by this program will result in a more complete definition of subsurface contaminant plumes and correlation of potential contaminant source(s) with preferential contaminant migration pathways through the vadose zone into groundwater and preclude subsequent unsound environmental management decisions.

source: http://www.gjo.doe.gov/programs/hanf/vzcp/charplan.pdf 10apr04
           (http://www.gjo.doe.gov/programs/hanf/)

As of April 2003, there are 149 older Single-Shell Waste Tanks (A), from which retrievable liquids were being pumped into newer double-shell tanks through 25,000 gallon Double Contained Receiver Tank (B). Between 1998 and April 2003, there were about 2.9 million gallons moved into the double-shell tanks. The single-wall tanks are 75 feet in diameter and hold between 530,000 and 1,000,000 gallons. They are made of reinforced concrete with a steel liner. At the surface, they are fitted with Surface Level Probe, Liquid Observation Well, Pumping Pit, Camera Observation Point, Dome Elevation Bench Mark, and a HEPA Breather Filter to allow ventilation of the tank.

Source: http://www.hanford.gov/reach/viewpdf.cfm?aid=1271 10apr04