Title:

Failure to Apply Beryllium Controls

Identifier:

2002-RL-HNF-0057

Date:

2002-10-04

Lesson Learned Statement:

Failure to analyze a leased facility for hazards against revised controls can unnecessarily expose personnel to those hazards. In this case, personnel were potentially exposed to beryllium.

Discussion:

The 313-N facility was cleaned but not sampled for beryllium before being turned over to a private company in 1994. That private company manufactured extruded aluminum items in the facility from 1994 through late 2001. At least one of the alloys used in their process contained low levels of beryllium impurities. FH employees periodically entered the building to provide landlord and service responsibilities while the private company occupied it.

In March 2002, following equipment removal but before cleaning was completed, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (under contract to DOE-RL) performed beryllium surface sampling in the facility. Contamination above the DOE release level of 0.2 µg/100cm2 was found at 21 locations in the facility. The highest level detected was 0.991 µg/100cm2. The FH employees who had entered the building while it was occupied by the private company were therefore possibly exposed to low levels of airborne beryllium. An automated job hazard analysis (AJHA) performed for working in the building had been completed, but the question pertaining to beryllium was answered “no” because the analysts believed the facility to be beryllium free.

Analysis:

Although beryllium was not a major concern in 1994 when DOE leased the facility to the private company, DOE should have contacted them in 1998 concerning possible beryllium sampling when new beryllium regulations were promulgated. In 1999, FH performed a beryllium characterization of the south side of the 313 facility, but did not sample the north side because the DOE facility was leased to a private company. If the individual responsible for the characterization had been aware that FH employees were working in the facility, sampling might have been performed in 313-N.

Personnel performing the AJHA for FH working in 313-N should have contacted the private company to see if they had monitored for beryllium or if they were performing work that could release beryllium. The private company monitored the building for beryllium in 1998.

Recommended Actions:

When new hazard controls are implemented, such as for beryllium, DOE and their contractors need to evaluate all their facilities for those hazards against the new requirements to ensure the safety of their workers.

Originator:

Fluor Hanford, Inc.
Submitted by Mark Benecke; (509) 376-0002

Validator:

John Bickford

Contact:

Project Hanford Lessons Learned Coordinator; (509) 373-7664; FAX 372-3950

Name Of Authorized Derivative Classifier:

Not required

Name Of Reviewing Official:

John Bickford

Priority Descriptor:

Blue / Information

Keywords:

beryllium; leased facility; aluminum

References:

Occurrence Report RL--PHMC-COMMLEASE-2002-0001

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DOE Function / Work Categories:

Operations - Facility

ISM Category:

Analyze Hazards
Develop / Implement Controls

Hazard:

Personal Injury / Exposure - Beryllium


End of Lesson!