[CPEO-MEF] HEALTH, RADIATION: Hanford workers

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Union, Environmental Group Say Dozens of Nuclear Workers Suffering  
from Toxic Materials Exposure

By Elizabeth Grossman
In These Times
February 20, 2015

Since March 2014, nearly 60 workers at the Hanford Nuclear  
Reservation in Washington state have sought medical attention for on- 
the-job exposure to chemical vapors released by highly toxic waste  
stored at the site, some as recently as August. At a public meeting  
held Wednesday in Pasco, Washington, Hanford workers described  
symptoms that include chronic headaches, respiratory problems, nerve  
damage and bloody urine.

The meeting, hosted by the United Association (U.A.) of Plumbers and  
Steamfitters Local 598 and Hanford Challenge, a Seattle-based  
environmental watchdog group, was convened following the February 10  
release by Department of Energy contractor Washington River  
Protection Services (WRPS) of a "corrective action implementation  
plan." This plan was developed in response to recommendations in a  
report from the Savannah River National Laboratory released in  
October 2014.

Commissioned in response to worker exposures at Hanford’s tank farms,  
the Savannah River report found ongoing emissions of toxic chemical  
vapors from waste tanks, inadequate worker health and safety  
procedures and evidence that "strongly suggests a causal link between  
chemical vapor releases and subsequent health effects."


...

For the entire article, see
http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/17668/nuclear_workers_dangers

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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