Coal Plant Industrial Hygiene

The Office of the Inspector General found the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) industrial hygiene planning and assessment process had weaknesses that resulted in some hazards not being identified and evaluated. Specifically, we identified the following industrial hygiene process weaknesses: (1) TVA relied on limited information to identify health hazards; (2) there was no formal evaluation of the risks posed by hazards identified; (3) industrial hygiene plans did not prioritize hazards for control; and (4) incomplete monitoring efforts, which allowed for misalignment between plans and exposure assessments as well as limited coverage for retiring plants. We also found TVA did not take appropriate actions to address some adverse conditions identified during assessments. We determined actions were not taken to address four occurrences of elevated silica. We also determined some employees were not notified of hazard exposures or actions taken to address their exposures, as required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. In addition, we identified opportunities for improvement related to handling of industrial hygiene issues in the contractor population.