DOE/EH-0413 --- Issue No. 94-14 --- 09/94

Enforcement of Employee Safety Training

A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, published in the Federal Register August 26, 1994, Vol. 59, No. 165, pp.44139-44140, addressed proposed enforcement of the Department of Energy's authority to assess civil penalties against contractors who fail to ensure that hazardous-waste employees have been suitably trained.

SUMMARY

In 1991, the U.S. Congress voiced concern that employees who handle hazardous substances at the Nation's nuclear weapons facilities were not consistently receiving adequate safety training. Accordingly, in December of that year, two provisions were added to Section 3131 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993.

Subsection (a) authorized the Secretary of Energy to award grants to nonprofit organizations experienced in providing safety and health training. Subsection (b) required the Department to assess civil penalties against any contractor who fails to provide such training, or who fails to certify to the Department that its employees are adequately trained to handle hazardous wastes. The enforcement would continue until responsibility for worker health and safety is transferred to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), sometime between 1996 and 1998.

The purpose of the Notice is to allow the Department to gather information and consider all points of view before formally beginning the rulemaking proceedings for enforcing Subsection (b).

The Department welcomes comments in eight areas:

• Implementation -- How should the Department implement its authority to enforce OSHA safety and health standards?

• Documentation -- What data should contractors be required to keep? In what format?

• Certification -- How can the Department most effectively and efficiently certify that an employee has been adequately trained...especially when a party other than DOE has provided the training?

• Incentives -- What incentives should be offered to encourage contractors to comply with the Department's requirements for training, self- identification, reporting, and promptly correcting deficiencies?

• Evaluation -- What criteria should the Department apply when evaluating whether a contractor's hazardous-waste training programs are adequate?

• Definitions -- How appropriate are the Department's definitions of hazardous substance and nuclear weapons facility?

• Enforcement -- What enforcement procedures should the Department use to ensure that it is complying with the intent of Congress?

• Assessment of fines -- How should the Department decide what penalty levels are appropriate for violations of different magnitudes?... for multiple violations?... for repeat violations? How should past performance be considered?

See Federal Register August 26, 1994, Vol. 59, No. 165, for more details.

COMMENTS TO DOE

Department employees, contractor employees, and other interested parties are invited to submit comments and recommendations to the address listed below by October 25, 1994. Mail or fax your comments to:

Roy Gibbs (EH-31), Office of Occupational Safety, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC 20585 Phone (301) 903-4343; fax (301) 903-2239.

For further information, contact: David M. Smith (EH-311), Office of Occupational Safety, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC 20585 Phone (301) 903-4669.

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