NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA No. 2004-0145-2941, CH(sub 2)M Hill Hanford Group, Inc. and United States, Department of Energy, Office of River Protection, Richland, Washington, July 2004

摘要

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) received a confidential request from employees of CH2M Hill Hanford Group, Inc., and a subsequent request from the United States Department of Energy, Office of River Protection, to evaluate the potential for exposures and health effects of vapors emitted from hazardous waste storage tanks at the Hanford Site in Richland, Washington. In response to these requests, NIOSH representatives conducted an evaluation at the Hanford Tank Farms in March 2004. The tanks contain a mixture of chemical and radiological waste which is being transferred to another location for processing into glass. Although there is no occupational exposure limit (OEL) for the mixture of chemicals and compounds that may be present in vapor that escapes from the tanks, OELs do exist for some of the individual vapor constituents. NIOSH investigators determined that employees at the Hanford Site may be exposed to vapor mixtures emanating from the 'head space' (air space above the tanks liquid contents) area of the tanks and that these exposures, on occasion, may be in sufficiently high concentrations to pose a health risk to exposed workers. The tank farm workforce was not routinely provided personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect them from tank vapors.