Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

RICHLAND – Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.) joined in Richland on Thursday to voice their concerns publicly over recent and repeated exposures of workers to tank vapors at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

AG Ferguson and Sen. Wyden also met with affected Hanford workers Thursday afternoon.

Ferguson, who filed a lawsuit in September of 2015 regarding worker safety issues at Hanford, reiterated his statement from earlier in the week on the recent worker exposures.

“The fact that Workers continue to be exposed to harmful vapors is shameful,” Ferguson said on Tuesday. “The events of the past several days are a disturbing illustration of why I filed a lawsuit against the federal government to protect Washingtonians who work at Hanford.

"How many Washington workers need to get sick before the federal government solves this problem? I call on President Obama and Secretary Moniz to become personally involved in this issue. What’s happening at Hanford isn’t right, and I am exploring further legal options to keep our workers safe at Hanford.”

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The Office of the Attorney General is the chief legal office for the state of Washington with attorneys and staff in 27 divisions across the state providing legal services to roughly 200 state agencies, boards and commissions. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.

Contact:

Peter Lavallee, Communications Director, (360) 586-0725; PeterL@atg.wa.gov

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