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This BLOG is for LLNL present and past employees, friends of LLNL and anyone impacted by the privatization of the Lab to express their opinions and expose the waste, wrongdoing and any kind of injustice against employees and taxpayers by LLNS/DOE/NNSA. The opinions stated are personal opinions. Therefore, The BLOG author may or may not agree with them before making the decision to post them. Comments not conforming to BLOG rules are deleted. Blog author serves as a moderator. For new topics or suggestions, email jlscoob5@gmail.com

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Sunday, October 12, 2014

LLNL Avoids Fine For 2013 Sulfuric Acid Burn Incident

LLNL Avoids Fine For 2013 Sulfuric Acid Burn Incident

Weapons Complex Monitor
October 9, 2014

LLNL Avoids Fine For 2013 Sulfuric Acid Burn Incident

Already hit with a $365,000 fee reduction for a 2013 sulfuric acid burn event that left two employees with first - and second-degree burns, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory avoided further penalties for the incident, according to a Preliminary Notice of Violation sent to the lab last week. The workers received sulfuric acid burns to their face, extremities and torso from a direct acid splash when a 100-liter reaction vessel sprayed a work area at the lab’s Site 300. The workers were performing chemical synthesis of a high explosive. A third worker was exposed to sulfuric acid mist but encountered no other injuries, the NNSA said. “The event revealed deficiencies in work planning and control processes, emergency response, industrial hygiene, management responsibilities, and pressure safety,” National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz said in a Sept. 25 letter to Livermore Director Bill Goldstein.

The NNSA declined to penalize Livermore beyond the $365,000 fee reduction already imposed on the lab [LLNS], and a lab spokeswoman said the issues addressed in the investigation have been take care of. “The safety and security of the Laboratory’s employees, facilities and the surrounding communities remain of utmost importance,” spokeswoman Lynda Seaver said in a statement. “Since this incident the Laboratory has addressed the issues cited in the report. The Laboratory will continue to work with the Livermore Field Office of the National Nuclear Security Administration to ensure work is performed within accordance of all applicable health and safety requirements, that employees are properly trained and all safety protocols are followed.”

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I heard about this when it happened. The lab did a good job in keeping it quiet for so long. That's the advantage of having a bunch of workers with no job mobility. Very unlikely to have dissent among the ranks or any whistle-blowing.

Anonymous said...

"...I heard about this when it happened. The lab did a good job in keeping it quiet for so long. That's the advantage of having a bunch of workers with no job mobility. Very unlikely to have dissent among the ranks or any whistle-blowing..."

Are you saying HEAF/Site 300 B Division and DTED employees are captured, and have little choice but to keep quiet or face having their jobs "go away"?

Anonymous said...

How long after the acid burn did LLNS publicly acknowledge the accident occurrence?

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