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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-8151
The U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) are sponsoring a pilot
partnership on employee safety and health at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
in Du Page County, Ill.
In May 1993, Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary announced
DOE's position that its more than 100,000 workers should have the same safety
and health protections afforded to private sector employees. DOE then began
consulting with OSHA to explore the possibility of transferring responsibility
for employee safety and health to the Labor agency.
Under the pilot, OSHA will evaluate ANL's safety and
health program and respond to ANL employee complaints directed to OSHA. The
pilot is part of the two departments' investigation into the possible transfer
of oversight of employee safety and health programs at DOE nuclear facilities
to OSHA.
ANL is a DOE government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO)
facility that conducts more than 200 research programs spanning the range from
basic to applied science. The 4,500 employees at the site, which is operated by
the University of Chicago, currently are covered by DOE safety and health
oversight.
During the pilot, OSHA's Health Response Team,
headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, will evaluate ANL's employee safety and
health program and offer recommendations for improvement as appropriate. The
OSHA area office in North Aurora, Ill., will handle worker complaints submitted
to OSHA through the agency's phone and fax procedure or onsite inspections. DOE
will continue to cover employee safety and health program matters not covered
by OSHA.
The Argonne pilot will provide DOE and OSHA with
"real-time" data to help determine barriers or unique problems associated with
the potential transition of DOE facilities to OSHA regulation. It also will
help define the value of external regulation by OSHA, as well as additional
budgetary and personnel resources required by OSHA should it assume
responsibility for DOE workers. Data will be incorporated into a study already
underway by the National Academy of Public Administration that is focusing on
resources and overall legal, legislative and policy issues of the possible
transition.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA
received authority to set and enforce occupational safety and health standards
for private sector employees except in cases where another federal agency was
already regulating employee safety and health. Currently GOCO facilities come
under DOE jurisdiction pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.
The Argonne pilot project began May 15, 1996, and will end
Dec. 1, 1996.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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