Introduction/Administrative News The TRADE Industrial Hygiene/Occupational Safety Special Interest Group (IH/OS SIG) Steering Committee met on November 10, 2005 through a conference call. 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.
Bill Frede, Honeywell FM&T
Ralph Hinterman, ANL-E, IH/OS SIG Steering Committee Chair
Lowell Howard, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Bob Kapolka, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), IH/OS SIG Steering Committee Advisory Chair
Dr. Daniel Marsick, DOE, EH-52, Office Of Worker Protection Policy and Programs
Deborah McFalls, ORISE, IH/OS SIG Coordinator
John Peters, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Rob Nicholas, Los Alamos National Laboratory
The following Steering Committee guest notified the IH/OS SIG Chair/Coordinator that he could not participate in the meeting:
David Weitzman , DOE, EH-52, Office Of Worker Protection Policy and Programs
Deborah McFalls reported that the IH/OS SIG/DOE TSL Index funding has been approved by DOE sponsor, Office of Planning and Administration, EH-7. It is anticipated the funding will be received by ORISE within the next month.
DOE Environment, Safety and Health Safety Bulletins versus DOE Environment, Safety and Health Safety Alerts DOE Official Dan Marsick provided information on the different purposes for the DOE publications, Environment, Safety and Health Bulletins and the Environment, Safety and Health Alerts. The Environment, Safety and Health Safety Bulletins are issued to share information and recommend actions on potential safety issues. It is awareness level type information about an issue that has come up within the DOE community that should be looked at closely by the DOE contractors. These bulletins do not require a documented action from the contractors. The DOE Environment, Safety and Health Alerts are issued to initiate immediate action on potentially significant safety issues. The Alerts require documented actions from the DOE contractors.
Deborah McFalls reported that the DOE Office of Environment, Safety and Health (ES&H) also publishes the Special Operations Report, Safety Advisories, and Operations Experience Summaries. Additional information about ES&H notices include:
Provide lessons-learned information between DOE facilities
No documented actions required of DOE contractor
DOE provides a notification service for the aforementioned notices and other documents through their EH Document Notification Services at: http://www.eh.doe.gov/dns/ehdns.html. Electronic notification of newly published documents is available to subscribed readers through an E-mail notification.
ES&H Vertical-Rail Fall Protection Bulletin An August 2005 bulletin was issues about vertical-rail protection. The DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, science and Technology has expressed concern regarding the integrity of vertical-rail fall protections systems. A failure occurred at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) where the top of a rail detached from the structure, rendering it ineffective for fall protection. Vertical-rail protection systems are used throughout the DOE complex to provide safety access to elevated structures. Correct design, installation, and maintenance of these systems are essential for worker safety. This bulletin can be viewed at: http://www.eh.doe.gov/paa/safety_bulletins/2005-10.pdf. Questions about information in this bulletin should be directed to Bob Crowley, DOE EH-24, ( 202/586-5486 or robert.crowley@hq.doe.gov).
ES&H Respiratory Protection Incidents Bulletin A September 2005 bulletin was issued about respiratory protection incidents at Idaho and Oak Ridge . The bulletin focused on recent respirator failure in the DOE complex. The incident underscored the importance of maintaining a comprehensive and effective respiratory protection program. Several serious respiratory failures have occurred in 2005 at DOE sites. Multiple events occurred where respirators fell apart in service. This bulletin can be viewed at: http://www.eh.doe.gov/paa/safety_bulletins/2005-14.pdf. Questions about information in this bulletin should be directed to Dan Marsick, DOE EH-52, (301/903-3954 or Dan.Marsick@eh.doe.gov).
Nanotechnoloy Activities Dan Marsick participates on the Nanomaterials Environmental and Health Implications Informal Interagency Working Group. The group is developing a list of priorities about what research should be done first on the health and environmental efforts from handling nanomaterials. This group, headed by the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), meets monthly at the National Science Foundation Headquarters. DOE has representatives on the group from ES&H and Office of Science.
Dan reported DOE Secretarial Policy Statement on Nanoscale Safety (DOE P 456.1) was issued in September to establish a framework for working safely with nanomaterials. The policy can be viewed at:
The Centers are part of DOE’s contribution to the National Nanotechnology Initiative. These facilities are designed to be premier user centers for interdisciplinary research at the nanoscale. Each Center will focus on a different area of nanoscale research, such as materials derived from or inspired by nature; hard and crystalline materials, including the structure of macromolecules; magnetic and soft materials, including polymers and ordered structures in fluids; and nanotechnology integration. Each Center is being housed in a new laboratory building near one or more existing Office of Science facilities for X-ray, neutron or electron scattering.
Dan noted that NIOSH is involved in nanotechnology safety related activities. Information about their activities can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/nanotech/. The Woodrow Wilson Research Institute also focuses on nanotechnology related safety initiatives.
Ralph Hinterman asked Dan Marsick to provide clarification on what is a nanoparticle. Dan noted there has been a risk assessment of nanotechnology that he will try to find to provide to the committee.
20th Annual Professional Conference on Industrial Hygiene The American Industrial Hygiene Association’s (AIHA) Academy of Industrial Hygiene and the AIHA Rocky Mountain Local Section partnered to hold the 20th Annual Professional Conference on Industrial Hygiene (PCIH) October 22-25, 2005 in Denver , Colorado . IH/OS SIG Chair Ralph Hinterman shared information from some of the sessions he attended at the conference:
“Our Intriguing World of Sound: Enjoyment, Annoyance, Hearing- Damage Risk, New Recordkeeping Requirements, and Determining Work-Related Hearing Loss” was also of interest. Presentations on community noise criteria and regulations, an examination of Occupational Safety and Health’s relatively new recordkeeping requirements for hearing loss, how to determine work relatedness, and strategies for hearing-loss prevention were included. Information about this presentation can be found at: http://www.aiha.org/TheAcademy/html/pcih-pdcsun.htm#7.
“The Seven Revolutions Initiative” was o ne of the most thought provoking presentation at the conference. The Seven Revolutions Initiative considers the long-term implications of global trends at work today. The Seven Revolutions presentation mapped seven key trends that will effect change to 2025. The seven “revolutionary” areas of change are population; resource management; technology; information and knowledge flows; economic integration; conflict; and governance. The overarching concern in each of these revolutions is that leadership is compressed, embattled by shrinking time frames clouding long-term vision, and urged to think tactically rather than strategically.
“How OSHA Has Changed (or Not) and How It Affects the Practice of IH” was presented by John Henshaw. In his three and a half years as Director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), John came to see more clearly some of the issues the agency must address to accomplish its true mission as Congress intended—to assure as much as possible every working man and women in the United States safe and healthful working conditions. Based on legislation that was written a third of a century ago and refined with over 35 years of case law, the burdens and hurdles the agency is required to meet make it impossible for OSHA to be on the leading edge of workplace safety and health. Given this reality, what can or should OSHA do and what should IH professionals do to continue to advance safety and health. Discussions focused on what OSHA has done to advance safety and health given the realities of today, as well as some of the successes and shortcomings of various efforts. Discussion also focused on new efforts that might be considered to improve overall performance in standard setting, voluntary programs, partnerships, and advancement of the certified industrial hygienist credentials.
Ralph encouraged committee members to attend the next PCIH conference scheduled for September 16-19, 2006 in San Jose, California.
Distribution of Electrical Lessons and Nested-The Nested Safety and Security Committee Process Videos During the August Steering Committee Conference Call meeting, the committee approved for distribution as SIG products the Electrical Lessons and the Nested-The Nested Safety and Security Committee Process videos developed at LANL by Committee Member Rob Nicholas .
The committee expressed an interest in the materials being distributed in DVD format. Rob anticipates that related guidance type documents will be made available through the Web.
The reproduction and distribution of these products to the SIG’s membership will occur once the SIG’s 2006 DOE-sponsored funding is in-place at ORISE.
DOE 851 Ruling News and Other General News The draft of the DOE 851 document has gone to the Office of Management and Budget for review and then afterwards will go to OSHA for comparison. According to Dan Marsick, David Weitzman (DOE EH-52) has completed the accompanying draft guidance document that cannot be released until DOE 851 is finalized.
Future Steering Committee Conference Call Meeting The next Steering Committee Conference Call meeting is scheduled for January 31, 2006, 1:15 – 2:30 EST (conference call number - 301/903-6058).
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
