excalibur
Diamond Member
- Mar 19, 2015
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Rules for thee, but not for me.
And courts are part of the problem. The courts should ignore any OSHA complaints in which the Feds are doing the exact same thing, and not until the Feds comply should they consider a private business complying.
Time to rein in the bloated Federal government (nonessential workers stay home - permanently).
The Environmental Protection Agency, which polices chemical contaminants, has been subjecting employees at its Chicago offices to water contaminated with metal and Legionella, the bacteria that causes the deadly Legionnaires’ disease.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported this week that at least five water fountains or kitchen faucets were found to have Legionella. Two kitchen faucets also busted the acceptable limits for lead and copper.
In Michigan, meanwhile, another federal building was found in 2017 to have a high risk of fire, and experts said it needed a sprinkler system. Seven years later, the problem remained unaddressed, an inspector general found.
And in Bethesda, Maryland, surveyors found stone crumbling off the sides of the headquarters of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2019. They called it an “immediate and potentially imminent danger.” Four-and-a-half years later it still hadn’t been fixed, according to the inspector general.
When the General Services Administration, the government’s chief landlord agency, does get around to fixes, it takes an average of nearly three years to put a plan in place. That shatters the Occupational Safety and Health Administration deadline.
Public Buildings Service “data shows that there are nearly 36,000 actionable, open-risk conditions at almost 2,000 GSA-managed assets nationwide,” the inspector general said. “The same data shows that there are more than 5,000 open-risk conditions that were not corrected or did not have an abatement plan in place within the 30-day period required by OSHA regulations.”
The report is the latest embarrassment for the PBS, the GSA’s division that manages government properties.
Auditors say the GSA bungled office reopenings after the pandemic, when empty buildings allowed dangerous bacteria to accumulate.
At least two cases of Legionnaires’ disease have been attributed to contaminated water at GSA-run buildings since the start of the pandemic.
The GSA didn’t respond to an inquiry for this story. But in an official reply to the inspector general’s backlog report, the agency said it needs more money.
“Full access to the Federal Buildings Fund, as proposed in our FY25 budget request, would support a more timely closure of open-risk conditions that require funding,” said Elliot Doomes, the PBS commissioner.
He acknowledged failing to meet the 30-day deadline for fixes but said the agency is working on improving the system for tracking open issues.
Sen. Joni Ernst, Iowa Republican, has been tracking the government’s pandemic reopening and safety procedures at its buildings. She sent a letter this week to EPA Administrator Michael Regan demanding he force the GSA to fix the water contaminants.
She pointed to a study that found contaminated water in child-care centers in government buildings.
Ms. Ernst said the EPA should issue emergency orders to protect those children and others at the tainted buildings and should require a warning go out to everyone already exposed.
“Federal employees showing up to work and EPA guaranteeing safe drinking water in government buildings are nonnegotiable bare minimum expectations,” Ms. Ernst said.
EPA employees in Chicago were miffed that their agency let the issue fester, and their labor union has filed a grievance, the Sun-Times reported.
...
www.washingtontimes.com
And courts are part of the problem. The courts should ignore any OSHA complaints in which the Feds are doing the exact same thing, and not until the Feds comply should they consider a private business complying.
Time to rein in the bloated Federal government (nonessential workers stay home - permanently).
The Environmental Protection Agency, which polices chemical contaminants, has been subjecting employees at its Chicago offices to water contaminated with metal and Legionella, the bacteria that causes the deadly Legionnaires’ disease.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported this week that at least five water fountains or kitchen faucets were found to have Legionella. Two kitchen faucets also busted the acceptable limits for lead and copper.
In Michigan, meanwhile, another federal building was found in 2017 to have a high risk of fire, and experts said it needed a sprinkler system. Seven years later, the problem remained unaddressed, an inspector general found.
And in Bethesda, Maryland, surveyors found stone crumbling off the sides of the headquarters of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2019. They called it an “immediate and potentially imminent danger.” Four-and-a-half years later it still hadn’t been fixed, according to the inspector general.
When the General Services Administration, the government’s chief landlord agency, does get around to fixes, it takes an average of nearly three years to put a plan in place. That shatters the Occupational Safety and Health Administration deadline.
Public Buildings Service “data shows that there are nearly 36,000 actionable, open-risk conditions at almost 2,000 GSA-managed assets nationwide,” the inspector general said. “The same data shows that there are more than 5,000 open-risk conditions that were not corrected or did not have an abatement plan in place within the 30-day period required by OSHA regulations.”
The report is the latest embarrassment for the PBS, the GSA’s division that manages government properties.
Auditors say the GSA bungled office reopenings after the pandemic, when empty buildings allowed dangerous bacteria to accumulate.
At least two cases of Legionnaires’ disease have been attributed to contaminated water at GSA-run buildings since the start of the pandemic.
The GSA didn’t respond to an inquiry for this story. But in an official reply to the inspector general’s backlog report, the agency said it needs more money.
“Full access to the Federal Buildings Fund, as proposed in our FY25 budget request, would support a more timely closure of open-risk conditions that require funding,” said Elliot Doomes, the PBS commissioner.
He acknowledged failing to meet the 30-day deadline for fixes but said the agency is working on improving the system for tracking open issues.
Sen. Joni Ernst, Iowa Republican, has been tracking the government’s pandemic reopening and safety procedures at its buildings. She sent a letter this week to EPA Administrator Michael Regan demanding he force the GSA to fix the water contaminants.
She pointed to a study that found contaminated water in child-care centers in government buildings.
Ms. Ernst said the EPA should issue emergency orders to protect those children and others at the tainted buildings and should require a warning go out to everyone already exposed.
“Federal employees showing up to work and EPA guaranteeing safe drinking water in government buildings are nonnegotiable bare minimum expectations,” Ms. Ernst said.
EPA employees in Chicago were miffed that their agency let the issue fester, and their labor union has filed a grievance, the Sun-Times reported.
...
Feds violate OSHA standards at thousands of government properties
The Environmental Protection Agency, which polices chemical contaminants, has been subjecting employees at its Chicago offices to water contaminated with metal and Legionella, the bacteria that causes the deadly Legionnaires’ disease.
www.washingtontimes.com
