Two reports find violations at SRS

Two reports from investigative teams have made significant recommendations to the Savannah River Site and its contractors after accidents and the verification of employees' citizenship seemed to be lacking.

The Department of Energy and its Office of the Inspector General have released the reports after investigations into activities at SRS.

One report was that of a "Type B" investigation into a serious hand and arm injury suffered by a worker in a powerhouse, the other regarding employment verification at SRS.

The investigation into the injury came about after a worker suffered first-, second- and third-degree burns on his arms and hands while working in a D-area powerhouse. The electrical burns were determined to have been caused when a metal level the worker was using came into contact with a live breaker.

The injuries were the result of "required and expected safe electrical work practices" not being followed, according to the report.

The "most significant contributing cause" of the incident was that supervisors had failed to prevent the work from occurring near live equipment, the report said.

The injured individual was a Savannah River Nuclear Solutions subcontractor who also failed to wear the correct protective equipment. Supervisors of the project were also criticized in the report, stating that they did not lay out the "potential hazards or required controls" to their subordinates before the project began.

Investigation reports into injuries suffered in an acid spill from August and a severe hand injury in October are expected to be made public soon.

The second investigation, made public Nov. 5, reviewed SRS to determine whether Site subcontractors properly verified the employment status of all employees according to guidelines and whether unauthorized individuals accessed the site.

The report, compiled over a six-month period, found issues at SRS that it said needed corrective action.

Four subcontractors contacted during the inspection failed to utilize an I-9 Form to determine worker eligibility. The I-9 is used by an employer to verify an employee's identity and to establish that the worker is eligible to accept employment in the United States.

The investigation also found that 22 percent of the 600 I-9 Forms "obtained from our sample of 21 Site subcontractors were missing key elements, including the subcontractor's affirmation that the identity documentation was reviewed and appeared authentic; and, the employee's signature to affirm that the employment information was correct."

Also, 16 subcontractor employees "may have had their Social Security numbers used by other people in the general population not associated with the Department," the report stated. "Our review revealed no evidence that the 16 subcontractors were using fraudulent numbers."

The matter of the use of Social Security numbers has been forwarded to the Social Security Administration, the report said.

Contact Mike Gellatly at mgellatly@aikenstandard.com.