February 15, 2006—Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman recently announced regulations aimed at improving worker safety across the Department of Energy (DOE) complex. These rules establishe a uniform set of standards that will require Department-wide compliance and monetary fines for contractors who fail to apply these regulations.
Under the new “Worker Health and Safety Rule,” all non-nuclear DOE contractors will be required to comply with applicable OSHA safety and health standards. (DOE nuclear workers are protected under the Price-Anderson Act.)
On a site-by-site basis, contractors may also be responsible for meeting additional safety and health consensus standards issued by groups such as the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, the National Fire Protection Association, the American National Standards Institute, and the American Society for Mechanical Engineers.
The rule will go into effect on February 7, 2007. DOE contractors and site managers will attend a series of classes and workshops over the course of 2006 in order to ensure rapid compliance upon the effective enforcement date. Contractors violating these regulations could be fined up to $70,000 per violation, per day.
A copy of the final rule, 10 CFR 851 (Worker Health and Safety Rule), is posted on the DOE’s Office of Environment, Safety, and Health Web site.
