Introduction/Administrative News The TRADE Industrial Hygiene/Occupational Safety Special Interest Group (IH/OS SIG) Steering Committee met on July 26, 2005 through a conference call meeting. IH/OS SIG Steering Committee Chair Ralph Hinterman, Argonne National Laboratory-East (ANL-E), facilitated the meeting in which the following Steering Committee members/guest participated:
Tom Cornell, Fluor Hanford Inc.
Phil Grogin, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Ralph Hinterman, ANL-E, IH/OS SIG Steering Committee Chair
Lowell Howard, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Deborah McFalls, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), IH/OS SIG Coordinator
Rob Nicholas, LANL
Robert Selvey, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL)
The following Steering Committee members/guests notified the IH/OS SIG Chair/Coordinator that they could not participate in the meeting:
Michael Hurshman, S.M. Stoller
Bob Kapolka, ORISE, IH/OS SIG Steering Committee Advisory Chair
Dr. Daniel Marsick, DOE, EH-52, Office Of Worker Protection Policy and Programs
John Peters, BNL
Deborah McFalls reported that the IH/OS SIG Web site (http://www.orau.gov/ihos/index.htm) is averaging almost 2,500 visitors per month. Last month was an exceptionally good month (3,868 visitors) for the number of visitors to the site. Some visitors are revisiting the site several times per month. Deborah also reported that a new section focusing on safety posters has been added to the site’s menu. DOE will be making available in the future, online, newly developed safety posters. Deborah thought it was important to focus on these upcoming posters as well as other online safety posters in the DOE Community.
BNL’s Safety Solutions Program Robert Selvey reported on John Peters’ behalf to the committee about BNL’s new Safety Solutions Program which was designed to seek out and fund health and safety improvements and corrective actions received from employee suggestions. It functions in a similar manner to the BNL P2 Pollution Prevention Program. The S2 Program compliments the existing systems approach that integrates safety improvements into all planning and decision making. The scope of the BNL S2 Program includes:
Elimination or reduction of occupational safety and health ( OSH ) hazards at the source.
Enhancement of safety and health through equipment and process improvements.
Procurement of OSH favorable products.
The goals of the BNL S2 Program are to:
Assist in the systematic and team approach that integrates accident and injury prevention into all projects and activities.
Reduce OSH impacts as low as reasonably achievable.
Assist the Laboratory to achieve or exceed BNL/DOE occupational health and safety goals.
Achieve timely implementation of Return-On-Investment projects.
Comply with external drivers.
Identify and respond to trends.
Improve outreach and awareness.
Identify alternative funding mechanisms.
The program plan adds additional revenue source possibilities to the application of engineering controls for workplace hazards.
An essential purpose of the Safety Solution Program at BNL is to seek alternative funding to implement health and safety improvement projects. In addition to the traditional source of line organization operating funds, the S2 Program provides a limited amount of funding to support worthwhile projects. This year is the 1 st year with a funding level of $20K which has to be spent by September 30, 2005 .
The BNL S2 Council, a committee with a representative from each BNL Directorate, reviews S2 proposals and awards funding to those projects that best meet a published criteria. The council collects ideas and proposals from all BNL staff that will improve worker and facility health and safety. The council encourages all staff to submit proposals at any time using a submitted form. The council holds proposals until funding is distributed after the evaluation process.
Proposals are evaluated based upon the following criteria:
The project increases worker safety awareness and involvement.
The project eliminates or significantly reduces a OSH hazard.
The project eliminates or significantly reduces the use of toxic, radioactive, and/or hazardous hazard that results in worker exposure above occupational exposure limits.
The project corrects or prevents noncompliance and/or eliminates or significantly reduces a health or safety hazard.
The project supports and is aligned with the Laboratory Critical Outcomes and Performance Measures.
The project has a good return on investment (ROI). ROI will be calculated by determining the payback period. The calculation of payback period is performed by dividing the Total Project Cost by the Annual Project Savings. A three year payback period will be considered a 'good' ROI.
The project has a high likelihood of successful implementation.
The project can be implemented within the fiscal year.
To-date, the Committee has received 14 proposals to consider. More information about the program is available at: http://www.bnl.gov/esh/shsd/OHSAS/S2_homepage.asp. The winning sproposals for FY05 will be posted on the Web site.
LANL Electrical Lessons Video As noted in previous Steering Committee Conference Call meetings, the committee will be reviewing for potential distribution as a SIG product and posting on the DOE TSL Index, the Electrical Lessons training materials (VHS or DVD format) developed at LANL by Committee Member Rob Nicholas. The video examines three recent LANL electrical incidents and their lessons learned. Though these incidents are demonstrated in three specific work environments, their lessons learned can apply throughout a site’s work environment: from office to workshop to research bench. The lessons learned Discussion Guide suggests using this video as a starting point to discuss electrical safety with a team or group as it relates to their individual work environments. The guide suggests allowing enough time for viewing the video and discussing the video and the three following electrical incidents:
Welding Electrical Shock
Overflow Electrical Shock
Lockout/Tagout Near Miss
Please note the Web sites mentioned in the guide are not available at this time to the general public. The video will be distributed to committee members prior to the August Conference Call meeting for review. If approved for distribution and funding is available, the Committee will need to consider whether to distribute the materials in VHS or DVD format. Rob Nicholas will be available during the August Conference Call meeting to address any questions the committee has about the materials.
IH/OS SIG Steering Committee Workshop - October 26, 2005 The Committee continues to plan for their 2005 workshop tentative scheduled to be held in conjunction with the “ Annual Professional Conference on Industrial Hygiene” (PCIH) scheduled for October 22–25, 2005 in Denver, Colorado (http://www.aiha.org/TheAcademy/html/pcih.htm). The committee is planning on having their workshop on October 26 for four hours in the morning. The workshop is subject to continuation of funding from the current SIG sponsor. Deborah reported that she should know by the August Conference Call meeting if there funding is available to support the workshop. If the workshop is able to occur, planning for topics and presenters will need to start during the August Conference Call meeting. At least 5 of the committee members noted that they would be able to attend a Steering Committee Workshop. The advance registration deadline for the PCIH is September 19, 2005.
General Discussion The following upcoming events are planned:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is hosting the 1st Annual Laser Safety Officer Workshop August 3-5, 2005. Details about the workshop can be obtained from Ken Barat at: barat1@llnl.gov or Dena Rutan at: rutan2@llnl.gov or 925/423-0696.
As noted previously, the 20th Annual Professional Conference on Industrial Hygiene will be held October 22–25, 2005 in Denver , Colorado . The conference is being held in partnership with the AIHA Rocky Mountain local section. Details about the conference can be viewed at: http://www.aiha.org/TheAcademy/html/pcih.htm.
The DOE Office of Worker Protection Policy and Programs is hosting a Radiation Protection Workshop November 1-3, 2005 in Washington D.C. at the DOE Forrestal Headquarters Auditorium. Details about the conference can be obtained from DOE Official Peter O’Connell at: Peter.O'Connell@hq.doe.gov.
The Second Symposium on Beryllium Particulates and Their Detection will be held November 8 - 9, 2005 at the University Park Marriott in Salt Lake City . Details about the symposium can be viewed at: http://www.rmcoeh.utah.edu/besymp/.
Future Steering Committee Meeting The next Steering Committee Conference Call Meeting is scheduled for August 24, 2005 , 1:15 – 2:30 EST , conference call number is 301/903-6489.
For additional information, please contact: Deborah McFalls, IH/OS SIG Coordinator
Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education
P. O. Box 117, MS 10
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0117
