OSHA cites incinerator operator for violations

By Rob Jordan
Star Staff Writer
08-19-2004

Regulators have cited the contractor operating the Anniston chemical weapons incinerator for three “serious” violations involving worker exposure to nerve agent, according to government documents. In a notification issued July 6, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) alleged that officials with Washington Group International-Westinghouse failed to properly investigate a January incident in which nerve agent spilled onto workers’ protective suits. The contractor also failed to alert workers to procedural changes before two similar incidents occurred in February and March, according to documents recently obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. All of the violations were corrected at the time of inspections – one in February and one in June – according to the notification. OSHA officials set a total $7,500 penalty, but offered to reduce it to $4,781 if Washington Group International-Westinghouse agreed to the settlement within 15 days. The contractor is contesting the citations. Company officials declined to comment, citing the pending appeal. An independent federal review commission will hear the case. In the first incident, sarin nerve agent spilled onto technicians wearing protective suits Jan. 19, as they worked to change filters in an agent drainage pump. Although Washington Group International-Westinghouse conducted an assessment of the incident and adopted procedural changes, the contractor did not adhere to federal guidelines for such an investigation, according to OSHA. An OSHA inspection found that workers who were involved in a second agent spill less than three weeks later, on Feb. 4, had not been informed of procedural changes stemming from the January incident. In the second incident, sarin spilled onto workers, got on clothing under their protective suits, and minute amounts escaped engineering controls. Workers involved in a March 24 incident also had not been notified of procedural changes, according to OSHA. Although the report does not specify the nature of the March incident, an OSHA official said it involved a sarin spill. Roberto Sanchez, the area director for OSHA’s Birmingham office, declined to say whether the citations implied anything about operations at the incinerator. “It just implies what it says,” Sanchez said. The incidents and the citations incurred are not representative of the incinerator’s operation, said Army spokesman Mike Abrams, who cited the facility’s 5.8 million man hours without the loss of a work day to injury. “Our safety record is better than the average lawyer’s office,” Abrams said. “We know we have a safe program out there.”

About Rob Jordan

Rob Jordan covers criminal justice issues for The Star.