1,800 Chemical Compounds Predicted to Form in Hanford Tanks

A potpourri of 1,800 chemical compounds were found to have formed or have the potential to form and be emitted as vapors from 177 underground storage tanks holding radioactive and chemical waste at the Department of Energy's Hanford Site in Washington state. A report by DOE contractor CH2M HILL identified and characterized 52 chemicals of particular concern and says current worker protective equipment is adequate for these chemicals. However, the report notes that for some 1,400 organic compounds that are likely to be present in the headspace above the tanks, no occupational exposure data exist. The study, the contractor notes, is a first-time effort to assess and characterize these tank wastes and is a work in progress. The study follows criticism by a watchdog group, the Government Accountability Project, that charged that workers had been made ill from exposure to the tank vapors. Subsequent follow-up examinations by DOE oversight panels urged that greater attention be paid to chemical emissions from the tanks, which hold 53 million gal of waste.