15 Hanford chemical exposure deaths added to WA state worker death toll after law change
The Washington Department of Labor and Industries observed Workers’ Memorial Day by adding 129 people to the list of more than 2,000 workers who’ve died over the years in the state by violence, accident or illness tied to their jobs.
At an annual memorial service, the state remembered workers, including 19 with Tri-Cities connections.
They included 15 with Hanford connections whose cause of death was attributed by L&I to chemical exposure.
Statewide, 11 Washington workers died by homicide, including nine by gunfire. They included three law enforcement officers. In the Tri-Cities, Instacart shopper Justin Krumbah died in a shooting at a Richland grocery.
Those with Tri-City connections included a construction worker who died in a fall, a meat packer who died of blunt force trauma, a Yakima County corrections deputy who died of COVID-19 and 15 who were associated with the Department of Energy and worked at the Hanford site or Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland.
L&I said chemical exposure was the cause of death for 15 people who worked for Department of Energy and its contractors. There were no chemical exposure deaths reported last year. The addition reflects a change in state law that makes it easier for Hanford workers or their estates to claim illnesses are connected to their jobs.
The somber bell-ringing service was April 27 in Tumwater was part of a series of nationwide programs tied to Worker’s’ Memorial Day, which falls on April 28 this year.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported more than 5,100 U.S. workers were killed in 2021 and 2.6 million more were injured on the job.
For L&I, the memorial service served as a reminder of its mission to improve working conditions to prevent accidents, illness and death.
Joel Sacks, director of the workplace safety agency, noted this year’s ceremony fell on the 50th anniversary of Washington’s Industrial Safety and Health Act of 1973. Work-related deaths topped 200 then. They’ve fallen, but not to the target of zero, he said.
Families were invited to share stories about their missing loved ones, with some tearfully recalling the devastating phone calls telling them a family member would never come home. One young worker died on the Fourth of July when a trench collapsed. His family said he was working to earn money for fireworks.
Gov. Jay Inslee celebrated the workers for their service — and sacrifice — to their communities.
Tri-Cities job-related deaths
Most people honored died in 2021 or 2022, but some individuals were added because they were not recognized in earlier programs. They are:
Dale V. Archer, 60, an Oregon resident who worked as an engineer at PNNL, died Feb. 11, 1999 of chemical exposure.
Luis G. Bastian Flores, 34. a Franklin County resident who worked for Gutter Girl, died Sept. 20, 2022 in a fall off a roof while working on gutters, said the Franklin County Coroner’s Office.
Gregory A. Bates, 38, a Benton County resident who was a firefighter associated with the Department of Energy, died March 30, 2000 of chemical exposure.
Karen M. Brown, 47, a Benton County resident who worked at the Yakima County Jail, died April 7, 2022 of COVID-19.
Lois A. Bumgarner, 75, a Kennewick resident who worked an administrative assistant associated with the Department of Energy, died June 21, 2021 of chemical exposure.
Alvin H. Keck, 64, a Richland resident who worked as a piping engineer for Bechtel National, the Hanford Vit Plant contractor, died March 23, 2021, of chemical exposure.
Leland H. Knapp III, 64, a Benton County resident who worked as painter associated with the Department of Energy, died Aug. 1, 2022, of chemical exposure.
Justin Krumbah, 38, a Benton County resident who worked as an Instacart shopper, died by homicide in a Feb. 7, 2022 shooting at the Richland Fred Meyer.
Gerald L. Massengale, 58, a Benton County resident who worked as an insulator associated with the Department of Energy, died March 25, 2022 of chemical exposure.
Amos Milan Nieblas, 36, a Franklin County resident who worked as a meat processor who worked for Royal Pack LLC and died Dec. 4, 2022 after he was hit by a door, according to the Franklin County coroner’s office.
Mauro Partida, 61, a Franklin County resident who worked in law enforcement associated with the Department of Energy, died June 29, 2013 of chemical exposure.
Isidoro Perez Mata Jr., 64, a Benton County resident who worked as a utilities operator for CH2M Hill, died March 14, 2021 of chemical exposure.
Pete E. Orgill, of Yakima, 62, a laborer doing Department of Energy work, who died May 14, 2015 of chemical exposure.
David C. Perkins, 45, a Benton County resident who worked as a firefighter associated with the Department of Energy, died May 21, 2022 of chemical exposure.
James L. Plaisted, 68, a Benton County resident who worked as a scheduler and planner associated with the Department of Energy, died Feb. 27, 2020 of chemical exposure.
Patrick J. Price, 65, a Benton County resident who worked as a truck driver associated with the Department of Energy, died May 26, 2021 of chemical exposure.
Barry L. Sharer, 69, a Benton County resident who worked as an operations manager associated with the Department of Energy, died Nov. 2, 2015 of chemical exposure.
Michelle M. Turner, 56, a Yakima resident who worked as a custodian for Akima Facilities Management, which does work at Hanford, died Feb. 19. 2022 of chemical exposure.
Oscar J. Valero, 60, a Franklin County resident who worked as a process operator for Mission Support Alliance LLC, a former DOE contractor, died Sept. 11, 2022 of chemical exposure.
Hanford ill worker bill
There were no deaths attributed to chemical exposure when L&I held its annual memorial a year ago.
The sharp increase in the number of deaths attributed to workplace exposure to chemicals can be traced to a bill passed by the 2022 Washington state Legislature that eased requirements for workers at a radioactive waste site to claim their illnesses could be attributed to their jobs..
The ill worker bill targeted federal, contractor and subcontractor workers at the Hanford nuclear reservation plus state regulatory workers on site. It corrected wording flaws in a similar 2018 law struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The ill worker law requires L&I to presume that radiological or chemical exposures at the Hanford nuclear reservation caused any neurological diseases or respiratory illnesses claimed by past or current workers at Hanford.
Many types of cancer also are presumed to be caused by working at Hanford, plus some limited heart problems, under the new law.
Workers no longer have to prove that not only that their illness was not caused by something else in their lives, but also no longer have to prove that an exposure to a specific chemical caused their illness.
Most other workers in Washington state bear the burden of proof to show that their injury or illness was a direct result of a specific workplace incident in order for them to be paid workers’ comp.
To qualify for the radioactive waste site exception workers must spend a minimum of one eight-hour shift at Hanford work areas can file throughout their lifetime under the new law. Or their survivors could file after their death.
The law was passed after worker advocates, including unions and Seattle-based Hanford Challenge, argued that showing exactly what substance a worker was exposed to at Hanford that could cause a serious or deadly illness can be very difficult, particularly for chemical vapors associated with tank waste.
The 56 million gallons of waste awaiting treatment in Hanford storage tanks includes at least 1,200 chemicals that may be released into the air in vapors.
“When you have people who work around these dangerous chemicals, it’s fair to put the burden on the federal government to prove that their problem was not associated with their work,” said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee earlier.
The 580-square-mile Hanford nuclear reservation adjacent to Richland, WA, is contaminated with radioactive and hazardous chemical waste from the past production of two-thirds of the plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program.
Hanford workers and PNNL employees who did work at Hanford, or their survivors, can learn more about state and federal compensation programs and how to apply for them at the Hanford Workforce Engagement Center at 309 Bradley Blvd., Suite 120, in Richland.
The center can be reached at 509-376-4932.
