WC Monitor
9/5/2014
IN DOE
The chairs of the EM Site-Specific Advisory Boards are scheduled to hold a meeting later this month in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Topics to be discussed at the Sept. 17-18 meeting are set to include “News and Views” from DOE headquarters and updates on EM acquisition and procurement and waste disposition strategies, as well as accomplishments and achievements of the various Site-Specific Advisory Boards, according to a notice published in the Federal Register this week.
IN THE INDUSTRY
Ann Gehl has been named manager of the Department of Energy’s Beryllium Lymphocyte Proliferation Laboratory, which is managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities. Gehl, who has almost 30 years of medical technology and lab experience, will replace Linda Nichols, who will continue working as a senior technologist and quality control specialist, ORAU said. The Oak Ridge lab annually processes thousands of blood samples to determine whether workers exposed to beryllium have developed a sensitivity that makes them vulnerable to development of chronic beryllium disease. The lab is one of only three in the country certified to perform this testing.
The Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association has awarded its 2014 Safety and Health Outreach award to three employees of Washington River Protection Solutions at Hanford. They are President Dave Olson, safety and health manager Clint Wolfley and industrial hygiene manager Ashley Kunz. WRPS outreach activities included SafetyFest Tri-Cities, which offered free safety training for local small businesses and agriculture groups. It initiated a health and safety mentoring program that supplied course information to Central Washington University, Boise State University and other universities. WRPS also donated $1,000 to the American Red Cross to improve safety and health outreach efforts near Hanford. “WRPS deserves credit for placing such a high priority on the safety of its employees at the Hanford Site,” said Tom Webb, VPPPA strategic development and member services manager.
