Attorney general seeks immediate help for Hanford workers

(AP) — Washington's attorney general on Thursday asked a federal judge to immediately take steps to protect Hanford Nuclear Reservation workers from exposure to chemical vapors.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson, along with the watchdog group Hanford Challenge and a labor union, filed motions for a preliminary injunction in federal court in Eastern Washington.

Hanford for decades made plutonium for nuclear weapons, and the site near Richland in southeastern Washington is now engaged in a massive cleanup of the resulting radioactive wastes.

All of the workers who recently reported exposure to chemical vapors were checked by medical personnel and cleared to return to work, the contractor has said.

Within minutes to hours after breathing the fumes, workers experienced nosebleeds, chest and lung pain, headaches, coughing, sore throats, irritated eyes, and difficulty breathing, the attorney general's office said.