Protecting contract workers: case study of the US Department of Energy's nuclear and chemical waste management.
Increased reliance on subcontractors in all economic sectors is a serious occupational health and safety challenge. Short-term cost savings are offset by long-term liability. Hiring subcontractors brings specialized knowledge but also young, inexperienced, inadequately trained workers onto industrial and hazardous waste sites, which leads to increased rates of accidents and injuries. Reliable data on subcontractor occupational health and safety programs and performance are sparse. The US Department of Energy has an excellent safety culture on paper, but procurement practices and contract language deliver a mixed message--including some safety disincentives. Its biphasic safety outcome data are consistent with underreporting by some subcontractors and underachievement by others. These observations are relevant to the private and public sectors. Occupational health and safety should be viewed as an asset, not merely a cost.
Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. heather@eohsi.rutgers.edu
Michael
M
Gochfeld
Sandra
S
Mohr
D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation; D005260:Female; D006256:Hazardous Waste; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D020416:Outsourced Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012308:Risk Management; D012449:Safety / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D012941:Social Responsibility; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D037041:United States Government Agencies; D014489:United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration; D018505:Waste Management / Q000592:standards*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control
D006256:Hazardous Waste