Washington State AG Considering Legal Action Over ‘Sickened’ Hanford Workers

With the number of Hanford workers being evaluated for a variety of symptoms and potential ailments due to smelling odors and fumes in the Tank Farm area now at 33, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson is considering new legal action vs. the federal government.

Ferguson sued the Department of Energy and feds last fall over similar health-related Hanford issues. It was in regard to worker safety issues.

Now Ferguson says the feds need to immediately step up and look hard at why nearly three dozen tank farm workers have obviously come in contact with some sort of substances that are causing a variety of what appear to be negative physical reactions.

The 33 workers have either been evaluated as a precaution due to smelling odors or fumes, or have exhibited headaches and other physical symptoms, apparently resulting from some sort of exposure to 'something' at the farms.

Part of his statement read:

 "How many Washington workers have to get sick before the federal government solves this problem?" 

Ferguson plans to meet with as many of these workers as he can, and plans to investigate the processes as well as the incidents occurring recently in the tank farm areas.  Workers have been working to pump waste from aging tanks, as well as trying to clean up some leaks that have been detected in waste tanks AY-101 and AY-102.

Some 177 tanks at Hanford hold the most toxic waste known to man, leftover from years of weapons production and other nuclear activities at the site.