Raytheon to contest depot safety violations

This story was published Tue, Mar 30, 1999

By Theresa Goffredo
Herald Oregon bureau

HERMISTON - The contractor for the Umatilla Chemical Depot incinerator said Monday that it will contest a citation from the federal branch of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for alleged safety violations at the facility's construction site near here.

Raytheon Demilitarization Co. faces a potential fine of $5,200.

Three of the four safety violations were corrected during a routine OSHA inspection in December.

Though OSHA regards the violations as serious, having only four violations at Oregon's largest construction project reflects well on safety procedures at the site, said Carl Halgren, OSHA's area director in Portland.

"We only found four items for a project as large as what's going on out there, so Raytheon is running a pretty good show," Halgren said. "Four violations compared with a $567 million contract is pretty good."

Three of the violations had to do with construction equipment.

Raytheon was cited for leaving the blade of a metal-cutting bandsaw without a blade guard. The company also was cited for operating an electric grinder without an adjustable tongue guard and using a table saw without an anti-restart device.

Raytheon also was cited for not putting caps on the ends of steel rebar to prevent workers from impaling themselves on the sharp ends.

Philadelphia-based Raytheon is building the incinerator eight miles west of Hermiston to burn the 3,717 tons of aging lethal chemical nerve agents stored there. The weapons are to be destroyed by 2005.

Chris Early, Raytheon's protocol officer, said Monday that the company is scheduling a hearing to contest the violations before OSHA in Washington, D.C.

"We're confident we will get this resolved," Early said.

On-site, the company employs seven people who perform safety inspections and "walk-throughs" of the site several times a day, Early said.

According to Raytheon safety records, one construction worker suffered a chipped collar bone - the most serious injury recorded since construction began at the incinerator in June 1997, Early said.

"When those things happen, we use those opportunities to sharpen our focus and do training for folks out in the field to make sure they don't happen again," Early said.

The federal branch of OSHA has jurisdiction over activities on Army bases such as the Umatilla depot outside Hermiston. Mary Binder, Army public information officer, said Monday that the Army welcomes another "pair of eyes."

"That's why we have OSHA, and it's their responsibility to fine-tune the policies we already have in place," Binder said. "Safety is our No. 1 focus, and those additional eyes come to take a look at what we're doing and can provide additional assistance."

 

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