Safety and Health:

Worker Safety and Health Oversight Issues Facing DOE

T-RCED-94-54: Published: Oct 21, 1993. Publicly Released: Oct 21, 1993.

Additional Materials:

Contact:

Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
youngc1@gao.gov

GAO discussed the Department of Energy's (DOE) efforts to protect the safety and health of its workers, focusing on: (1) the recent increase in occupational safety problems; (2) the DOE safety and health initiatives announced in May 1993; (3) DOE efforts to develop a safety policy that defines what is expected of contractors and their workers; (4) DOE efforts to ensure that the Office of Environment, Safety and Health (ES&H) has adequate authority, independence, and resources to do its job; and (5) DOE efforts to plan an effective transition to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) oversight. GAO noted that: (1) DOE facilities continue to experience occupational safety and health problems that indicate that DOE needs to do more to establish a sound, consistent safety environment at its facilities; (2) independent internal oversight is key to ensuring a safe work environment, since the ES&H Office does not have adequate staff or the authority to oversee and enforce safety and health policy; (3) recent changes in DOE structure could improve safety and health by increasing ES&H authority and bringing DOE facilities under OSHA oversight; (4) DOE still lacks a clear safety and health policy and specific goals; (5) the lack of adequate staff could limit the ES&H Office's ability to conduct vigorous oversight; and (6) DOE transition to OSHA oversight has not yet been well defined.

Oct 10, 2018

Oct 9, 2018

Sep 5, 2018

Jul 16, 2018

May 9, 2018

Feb 8, 2018

Dec 21, 2017

Dec 7, 2017

Nov 20, 2017

Looking for more? Browse all our products here