Bechtel National, the construction and commissioning contractor for the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment Plant, did not contest a preliminary notice of violation for a 2016 worker injury by the deadline at the end of last week.
The Office of Enforcement within the Energy Department Office of Enterprise Assessments had given the company 30 days to contest the decision before it become final.
The Office of Enforcement notified Bechtel in April that it did not plan to issue a civil penalty because DOE’s Office of River Protection at Hanford, which contracts with Bechtel for the WTP, already withheld $556,500 in contract fees for 2016 over safety deficiencies that included the Nov. 4 injury.
The incident occurred as a piping system for cooling water for the plant was being vented and filled in preparation of pressure testing. The worker was hurt after a 12-inch pipe joint unexpectedly separated, and he was hit with a pressurized stream of water.
The worker sustained two fractured vertebrae and multiple cuts on the head, according to a letter from the Office of Enforcement to Bechtel. The worker missed 70 days of work and then had medical restrictions for 84 days after returning to work. The injuries could have been more severe, DOE said.
The Office of Enforcement found three Severity Level 1 violations for deficiencies related to management responsibilities; hazard identification and assessment; and hazard prevention and abatement. It also found two Severity Level 2 violations related to training and record keeping deficiencies.
Bechtel responded to the incident by analyzing the adequacy of venting of piping systems, updating pressure testing procedures, and updating record-keeping practices.
