WEST HAVEN — An investigation substantiated three allegations from a whistleblower that the West Haven VA system has not implemented several procedural improvements to occupational safety and health standards following a deadly steam explosion in November 2020.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel announced Monday that an investigation by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office of the Medical Inspector substantiated a whistleblower's claims that employees are not following or documenting lockout procedures in steam stations, that supervisors and employees do not receive adequate training and that periodic inspections of energy control procedures for steam stations do not happen.
The West Haven VA system received intense scrutiny after Euel Sims Jr., a plumbing supervisor with the VA, and Joseph O’Donnell, a steamfitter for Danbury-based contractor Mulvaney Mechanical, were killed when a flange broke on a heating plant pipe in Building 22, releasing high-pressure steam in November 2020. The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued multiple notices of unsafe and unhealthful working conditions in June 2021, and by February 2022 the VA said 10 of 11 violations had been addressed with the one outstanding issue being due to an ongoing bidding process for a contracted service.
However, a three-day on-site investigation during March 2022 based upon a whistleblower's allegations found that there were still deficiencies....
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