Attorney general, Oregon senator meeting with Hanford workers on May 5

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., will be in Richland on May 5 to meet with Hanford nuclear reservation workers.

The number of workers receiving medical evaluations for possible exposure to chemical vapors over the last week at Hanford reached 42 on Wednesday.

The men also plan to meet with the media.

Ferguson is exploring further legal options to keep Hanford workers safe from chemical vapors. He filed a lawsuit in September against the Department of Energy and its Hanford tank farm contractor, seeking better chemical vapor protection for workers.

It is pending and has been combined with a similar lawsuit filed by Local Union 598, which represents Hanford pipefitters and welders, and Hanford Challenge, a Seattle-based advocacy group for Hanford workers.

Wyden this week called on Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to immediately convene an independent panel to look at double-shell tank conditions. Waste has leaked between the shells of Hanford’s oldest double-shell tank.

This story was originally published May 5, 2016 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Attorney general, Oregon senator meeting with Hanford workers on May 5."