Demolition of a Mercury Contaminated Facility

URS / CH2M Oak Ridge LLC was awarded a contract to perform demolition of the West COLEX process system that was shut down in the 1960s. Only residual amounts of mercury were thought to remain in the facility. That proved not to be the case. Lessons Learned: D&D is a unique subset of construction requiring skill sets and expertise not otherwise need...

Failures of SKC Lapel Sampler Model 224

Identification of increased failures of the SKC Lapel Sampler Model 224 has initiated a STOP WORK for issuance of the lapel samplers. There have been several lapel sampler faults that have occurred over past months. The main concern is the lapel sampler units that failed or flow faults occurred while workers were in an Airborne Radiation Area/Con...

Extension Cord Concerns and Cautions

Electrical cords, including extension cords, have been involved in several electrical shock, overheating, and smoke/fire incidents in the DOE complex. The typical contributor is damage that is visually apparent and which resulted from a single action. Extension cords present special concerns - concealed damage and improper use. Damaged plugs, recep...

Boat Maintenance Crew Supervisor Dies of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning while Using Gas-Powered Pressure Washer

A boat maintenance crew supervisor died from carbon monoxide poisoning while using a gasoline-powered pressure washer to strip paint from a boat. At the start of the day, the gasoline-powered pressure washer was positioned on the dock. Later, employees of another contractor moved the pressure washer onto the boat to clear the way for supply deliver...

A Users Guide to Preventing Major Accidents

"A Users Guide to Preventing Major Accidents" presented at the 2014 Nuclear Facility Safety Programs Workshop, May 7, 2014 by Peter S. Winokur, Chairman Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
Lessons Learned:
Cost of safety is small compared to cost of accident
Nuclear events and accidents have disproportionately larger impacts on mission that...

Oakland East Span Bay Bridge Lessons Learned

In the increasing need for larger and more complicated projects, a valuable amount of data is available in lessons learned from prior projects to support the execution of existing and planned projects. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake initiated the California Department of Transportation replacement or retrofitting of more than 2,000 bridges in the...

Understanding the Distracted Brain

The cognitive distraction from paying attention to conversation – from listening and responding to a disembodied voice – contributes to numerous driving impairments. Specific driving risks are discussed in detail in this article.

COW - The Video that will Stop You from Texting while Driving

This is a video about texting while driving produced by a a filmaker in Whales, UK. It portrays the events from a vehicle accident that involved a young girl who kills four people on the road because she used her mobile and lost her concentration for a few seconds.

INL Forklift Lessons Learned Video

Recently INL experienced multiple forklift events at different facilities with in a weeks time frame. This video discusses those events and the initial lessons learned from them.

The Safe Conduct of Research - Cobalt-60 Source Transfer

Battelle's Safe Conduct of Research (SCoR) principles form the foundation of PNNL's safety culture. In the third in a series of videos examining these principles in action, a PNNL project team tasked with the planning, procurement, and receipt of a highly radioactive source of Cobalt-60 shares how the SCoR principles inform their work.
From maint...

Vehicle Security Barrier Accident

This video summarizes an accident that occurred when a delivery truck driver was struck in the back of the leg by a descending active vehicle barrier which caused significant injury to the drivers lower leg. The Security Police Officer, who was processing the driver through the Vehicle Monitoring Facility, lowered the barrier without first verifyin...

Peer to Peer Accountability / Teamwork: Heat Stress

Video demonstrating teamwork and worker understanding when dealing with Heat Stress on the job

Review of Operating Experience Results in Process Improvement

In preparation for an upcoming core internals change out outage at the Advanced Test Reactor, a team of personnel reviewed past core internal change out reports for information to improve performance. During this review, it was noted that the tool used for removing the right hand beryllium blocks was very difficult to set up and operate. In Additi...