A team representing several Hanford Site contractors met recently to discuss challenges and enhancements of the company’s safety products.
Office of Environmental Management
April 2, 2019
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RICHLAND, Wash. – A team representing several Hanford Site contractors met recently with the manufacturer of respirators used across the 580-square-mile site to discuss challenges and enhancements of the company’s safety products.
The Hanford respiratory protection program committee organized the team’s trip to MSA Safety, Inc.’s plant in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
“It was great to meet the team and workers who build our respiratory equipment,” said Tonya Bean, CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) respiratory protection program administrator. “I think everyone involved has a new appreciation of the products and how they are built.”
Members of the Occupational Safety and Industrial Hygiene, Hanford Atomic Metals Trade Council, Hanford Building Trades, and Quality Assurance organizations represented Hanford contractors CHPRC, Washington River Protection Solutions, and Mission Support Alliance.
The Hanford team provided a site overview and showed MSA Safety leaders how their respirators are used at the site, the challenges workers face while wearing the equipment, and photos of workers in the field. The team also toured the production facility and production lines for the respirators.
The trip provided valuable insight to the manufacturer’s workers and allowed the Hanford team to observe firsthand the manufacturing process, quality control, and product testing.
“This kind of collaboration helps better protect Hanford Site workers on the front lines of cleaning up our Cold War legacy waste, which is obviously at the core of our mission,” said Paul Steiger, the local field representative for MSA Safety.