Hanford is the gift that keeps on giving. I could blog about nothing but the cleanup work at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and never run out of material. Recently there have been a series of Hanford Cleanup public meeting in Seattle, Portland and Richland. Well prepared officials from Hanford came to the meetings with slide shows and glossy handouts explaining how well everything is going. One thing that they failed to mention is the explosion at the Hanford Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) during demolition work a couple of weeks ago. The PFP may be the most radioactively contaminated building in the United States.
Workers at the Plutonium Finishing Plant reported that they first saw a spark and then flames shot out of a pipe that workers cutting into. Hanford management said that the incident was just a small pop but the workers who witnessed it said that it was a loud blast that was more like a shotgun being fired. The pipe was contained in a special structure to prevent worker exposure. However, if the pipe broke there was a possibility that workers could have inhaled particles of plutonium which could have had deadly consequences.
CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company(CHPRC) is the prime contractor for the environmental cleanup of the Central Plateau at the Hanford Site. A union representative suggested that CHPRC was downplaying the seriousness of the incident to avoid fines and litigation that could delay work..They feel that CHPRC is more interested in schedules and budgets that worker safety. The union representative also said that when workers express concerns about risks and safety, it "falls on deaf ears." There have been charges that CHPRC has decided that they do not want experienced workers at the PFP because experienced workers raise too many uncomfortable questions.
CHPRC issued a stop order for pipe cutting following the incident. Some workers have said that they don't think enough is being done to insure their future safety when work on the pipes resumes. CHPRC pointed out that the workers responded appropriately and no one was exposed to the plutonium in the pipe. They also said that there was no evidence of a release of radioactive materials from the pipe. For the time being the use of the mechanical pipe cutting equipment will be halted until it can be determined exactly what caused the explosion.
The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a statement that they are monitoring the response of CHPRC to the incident and will continue to do so until the cause has been determined and steps are taken to prevent a recurrence.
Recently there was an explosive release of vapors from waste storage tanks at Hanford. Twenty four workers were briefly hospitalized and treated for exposure to toxic fumes. Hanford management said that no one sustained serious injuries and all have returned to work. Some of the workers who were hospitalized have disagreed with the Hanford announcement saying that everyone has not returned to work and at least one man sustained injuries that will cause long term health problems.
Over and over Hanford management has been accused of putting budgets and schedules ahead of worker safety and downplaying the seriousness of any accidents. These are just two of the most recent incidents. While I agree that the contamination at Hanford must be cleaned up as quickly as possible, it should not be at the cost of workers' health and lives.
