Goals
Measures

Strategic Objectives
Goals

Develop
Issue

Exposure Assessment Implementation Guide a, b, (e?), 1, 3

Comment?
Write?
Issue?
Strategy, what do we do?

What are they?
Strategy - What do we do?

Manpower study
What to do
DOE IH Meetings (AIHC&E, and ES&H Meeting)

RCCC

Ergonomics was identified as an important need.

Jay Larson and Harvey Grasso had copies of the report which was sent out within the last three weeks. Their comments were submitted and discussed. There ensued a discussion of what to do with the report. Alternatives included publishing as an IHCC document, disposing of the document, retaining for IHCC members use, revising and revisiting.

Janet Torma-Krajewski moved and Harvey Grasso seconded to finalize the report and release it to committee members for internal IHCC use only. The motion passed.

Implementation Guide for use with DOE ORDER 440.1 Industrial Hygiene.

Initial discussion ranged over what use would be made of the Implementation Guide by the IHCC. Opinions ranged from release of the document as guidance by the IHCC to passing the document through the Oak Ridge Standards Adoption process. Several participants stated that any document will be ignored that isn’t accepted into a DOE contract.

Grasso moved and Harvey seconded that each IHCC member go back to his/her organization and assess the need for the Implementation Guide. At the next IHCC Meeting, the results of these informal pollings will be discussed and further action taken. Harvey withdrew his second. The motion was withdrawn.

Lia Stamoudis moved and Janet Torma-Krajewski seconded to send the document out with slight modifications as Industrial Hygiene Management Practices for Worker Protection Programs from the IHCC. The motion passed.

Janet Torma-Krajewski moved and Lia Stamoudis seconded that, in addition to the above action, the Committee investigate submission, approval, and adoption as a Technical Standard. The motion was adopted.

Two copies of the study guide were available for viewing. Larson instigated a discussion of the Qualification Standard process. Don Harvey expressed concerns about the underlying logic of the study guide process, i.e., that it appears that organizers of the process are operating on the premise that sitting down and reading a study guide qualifies a person as an IH. Julia Meyers, present at the meeting representing EH-74, indicated that an examination was being developed.

LP Singh and Mike Garcia have gone through a qualification process. Both took exams. Harvey Grasso was approved by his supervisor based on his being certified as an industrial hygienist.

According to John Serocki, the union is considering filing an unfair labor practice claim.

The issues of what constitutes industrial hygienist qualifications versus the Qualification Standard process was broadly discussed, with the general feeling that the Qualification Standard process is deficient. The sentiment was expressed several times that the qualification standard process was not truly what the DNFSB was after when it publish Recommendation 93-3.

There is general agreement that the study guide is unsatisfactory.

Potential action options.

No decision was made.

Herr discussed IH professional association unification issues, and issues surrounding the AIHA’s Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems Guidelines Document.

HAZWOPER Initiative. Handouts were provided.

Consider meeting in coordination with the TRADE meeting in Anaheim 19-20.

Handouts provided.

The Workshop was held in Livermore 16-17 July. There was a range of attendees from DP employees to contractors. The group brainstormed possible performance measures. Results will be taken back to sites with attempts to pilot proposed measures. The attendees will reconvene in week of 29 October to review progress.

Jay Larson discussed the survey that is being prepared in ER.

Jay Larson moved Harvey and Grasso seconded to extend the nomination deadline to September 15. The motion carried.

Nomination subcommittee members include LP Singh, Jay Larson, Lia Stamoudis, Don Harvey, and Janet Torma-Krajewski.

Grasso distributed materials and discussed DOE ERPGs.

Bill McArthur entered the meeting to present a briefing on Enhanced Work Planning. It was pointed out that Enhanced Work Planning was not on the agenda. The proposed briefing had been presented at the AIHC&E. Most committee members felt that they had been adequately informed on the topic. Janet Torma-Krajewski indicated that the IHCC would be interested in supporting the EWP process. The committee briefed McArthur on the IHCC’s roles and activities. McArthur indicated that in his communications with sites, there is a sense that IH’s aren’t adequately involved in procedure review processes.

The Core Technical Group has been established in DP and is operating. EM may form a similar group in the future. It is expected that the group’s activities will primarily revolve around SAR writing and review. The group consists of people both from HQ and from the field. It is a project focused unit and is mobilized when a need is identified.

OSHA is working on a partnership program, similar to VPP. It is part of their reinvention program. OSHA reviewed Argonne’s OSH program for two weeks. There was also a two week review in the DC area. They may visit Argonne for two additional weeks. OSHA is currently reviewing Argonne’s employee-complaints process.

Under the external regulation initiative, Grumbley chairs a committee is reviewing several options. Two will be provided to the Secretary. The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) is studying the feasibility of OSHA taking over regulation of DOE facilities. OSHA is concerned about having adequate resources to take on DOE sites and may decline to regulate DOE-privatized sites.

NAPA is considering several options.

The OSHA pilot will be finished in December. The NAPA report is due in September. The Grumbley Working Group on External Regulation is scheduled for completion in August.

Harvey Grasso has received comments from several committee members.

DOE moving toward standards based work as opposed to expert based work. Handouts were provided.

Handouts provided.

Reviewed DOE efforts at transitioning DOE to external regulation.

Grumbley and Grube committee. Reviewing transition toward a Corporate safety function and how to add to safety programs, not subtract from them, with the transition toward external regulation. Internal safety structure would look like a corporate model. For OSH functions, move toward OSHA regulation. OSHA has concerns regarding resources. DOE has made offer, OSHA is reluctant to make a commitment.

There is an OSHA/DOE MOU. OSHA is simulating OSHA regulation at Argonne. This project is going well. There is a second effort through the MOU, the NAPA review. NAPA is looking at resource and policy implications of OSHA regulation.

A third effort is being carried out by Fitzgerald and John Tseung (EM) on Safety management Guiding Principles. Under the traditional DOE model, HPs talk to HPs, etc. EH wants to move to risk-based integrated OS&H programs, i.e., get radiation health budgets in line with actual vulnerabilities. For example, Idaho had a fatality. Nevertheless, they maintained the radiation health budget and decreased the safety budget. This does not conform to reality.

EH has tried to integrate HP, IH, and OS functions. They have teamed disciplines into projects, i.e., have all disciplines working together on VPP, Enhanced Work Planning, etc. They are encouraging a similar transition at M&O contractors and sites.

There is a sense that responses to conventional (i.e., OSHA) incidents (near misses) are moving into parity with radiation incidents (near misses), but the goal hasn’t yet been achieved.

EH has made an effort to condense orders and make them rational and brief. EH doesn’t want to create situations where there is a short order with a large implementation guide. Fitzgerald views the IH Implementation Guide as having one foot in the old standards school and one foot in the performance based standard school. There was a discussion of the IH Implementation Guide process, the writing, the lack of acceptance by EH, and internal EH IH politics. Fitzgerald is willing to advance the Implementation Guide. Some ideas. Get the EH leadership to understand the context if the guide. Look at the Implementation Guide in the context of other Implementation Guides (e.g., explosives safety). Determine if the Implementation Guide is written too much for IHs and not too incomprehensible to line managers. Get a non-DOE IH to look at it and determine that the guide reflects what IHs do. Fitzgerald wants to get an action within the next two months. Weitzman will be the intermediary. Fitzgerald will talk to EH leadership.

Discussion took place on Beryllium. Tara O’Toole decided two years ago to produce a document in response to evidence that Chronic Beryllium Disease cases were being found at exposures .thought to be less than 2 m g/m³. There is renewed activity to get a Be guidance document out quickly (not a standard or order). The NY Times is running a DOE Be disease series.