TVA Norris Dam in East Tennessee. Image: Bryan Busovicki/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffAn inspector general report has urged stronger employee respiratory protections at the TVA after finding that requirements were not being met for employee training and for testing and storage of equipment.
The audit, which focused on non-nuclear facilities where employees are at risk of exposure to hazards such as toxic vapors, gases, dust or oxygen deficiency, identified issues that may place employees at risk even when wearing respirators in hazardous areas, including failure to test equipment for proper fit and “facial hair growth that could impact facepiece seal protection.”
In a sample of 139 employees, it found 51 were delinquent on required annual refresher training at some point during the evaluation period, with 18 overdue by 30 days or more. Also, it found that of 18 randomly selected employees, 10 were using respirators that did not match those that had been fitted to them.
Also, 17 of the 139 had not undergone a medical examination required within every three years for those who wear a respirator on the job, with some as much as 17 months past their deadline.
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