EM SAFETY INNOVATIONS AIM TOWARD SAFER TECHNOLOGIES AND BETTER INFORMATION FOR USERS

摘要

Beginning in 2000, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM),rnOffice of Science and Technology (OST) has substantially re-examined and improved ourrnapproach to worker safety and health. Consistent with OST’s responsibilities for safety, theserninitiatives can be categorized generally as: (1) Making our technologies inherently safer to use;rnand (2) Providing useful safety and health information about our technologies to the sites andrntechnology operators. This evolved through a collaborative process by the EM Office of Safety,rnHealth and Security, the EM Office of Science and Technology, EM Focus Areas and others. Itrnwas, initially, largely in response to a set of eight recommendations by the EnvironmentalrnManagement Advisory Board (EMAB) and to lessons learned from a serious accident in August,rn2000 involving an OST-funded new technology. The cornerstone of this effort is the Policy forrnOccupational Safety and Health in EM’s Science and Technology Program, issued in Januaryrn2001.rnDOE Focus Areas are focusing more attention on worker safety and health in their solicitationsrnand procurement documents for new technology research and development (R&D) projects. EMrnHeadquarters is working with Focus Areas, site environmental contractors, technologyrndevelopers, and their respective DOE field organizations to ensure that roles and responsibilitiesrnfor worker safety and health are clearly defined when a new technology is demonstrated at anrnenvironmental management site. The peer review process administered by the American Societyrnof Mechanical Engineers (ASME) now requires technology developers to think through theirrnapproach to safety and health in a more detailed, focused way than previously. In InnovativernTechnology Summary Reports (ITSRs), developers are comparing their new technologies tornbaseline technologies on the basis of safety and health. Technology Safety Data Sheets (TSDSs)rnare being prepared for new technologies when they reach the appropriate stage of development.rnThese and other process adjustments encourage technology developers to incorporate an iterativernhazard analysis approach throughout their R&D processes. This is good, sound engineeringrnpractice which, we are confident, is helping developers to make design decisions that lead torninherently safer technologies for site contractors and workers, and ultimately to lower life-cyclerncosts for the technologies. Importantly, all of this is being accomplished with minimalrnbureaucracy by working within OST’s existing management practices to reinforce desiredrnbehaviors and instill new values. Some business process documents are being “tweaked.” Butrnthere are no new Orders or Directives, no new personnel, and only minimal changes in reportingrnand documentation. The real changes are coming about because of subtle changes in ourrnprocesses, and very significantly—changes in the culture.