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Saturday, July 17, 2004
Vapors a risk to workers at Hanford, inquiry finds
By LISA STIFFLER SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
A new federal investigation presents the strongest evidence yet that Hanford workers are at risk of exposure to dangerous chemical vapors seeping out of massive buried waste tanks and that not enough is being done to protect them.
The investigation, conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, also found that chemical monitoring was insufficient and conducted in arbitrary locations, and that samples were sometimes collected hours after a vapor exposure had occurred.
Tank workers were punished or even fired for raising safety concerns, the report stated, and had a difficult time getting air-filtering respirators from their employer. When they did get respirators, the batteries were sometimes dead.
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The 21-page report by the federal institute went even further, stating that there is "a potential for significant occupational exposures and health effects from vapors released from the hazardous waste-storage tanks," and that "vapor constituents may be present at sufficiently high concentrations to pose a health risk to workers."
It recommends "providing, at a minimum, air-purifying respirators to workers and routinely sampling the head space of the tanks and the personal breathing zones of workers."
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