Years of Asbestos Exposure at VA Medical Facility Finally Leads to New Safety Policies
May 01, 2018
OSC has sent a letter to the President and Congress outlining a case at the VA where whistleblowers revealed that veterans and employees had been exposed to asbestos.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has sent a letter to the President and Congress outlining a troubling case at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) where whistleblowers revealed that veterans and employees at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts (Bedford VA) had been knowingly exposed to asbestos. Management at the Bedford VA had been on notice of this contamination since 2014 but continued to put employees and veterans at risk of airborne asbestos fiber exposure.
“For years, the Bedford VA Medical Center failed to implement a robust safety inspection program to identify contaminated work spaces,” said Special Counsel Henry J. Kerner. “Thanks to courageous whistleblowers coming forward to report these failures, the facility is now taking this problem seriously , monitoring employee health, and carrying out more fulsome measures to ensure safety for employees and veterans. ”
Whistleblowers revealed that Bedford VA management directed employees and veterans in vocational rehabilitation programs to work in known contaminated areas without proper protection. The matter was jointly investigated by VA’s Office of Occupational Safety and Health and the Green Environmental Management System. Their report substantiated many of the allegations. The report found that veterans in rehabilitation programs engaged in work that may have exposed them to asbestos fibers, and that the medical center failed to properly survey potential asbestos containing materials before beginning building renovation work.
The report made 12 recommendations to improve employee and veterans’ safety. Notably, the medical center is currently developing a variety of policies and procedures to ensure work spaces are properly evaluated before construction or renovations commence. Employees have also received additional asbestos awareness training and medical surveillance where appropriate.
OSC has previously reviewed mismanagement leading to asbestos exposure at VA facilities. In September 2015, a separate whistleblower disclosure and investigation found a VA medical center failed to take appropriate precautions to protect employees from asbestos exposure, failed to inform employees of the location and quantity of asbestos in the area, and failed to provide a medical surveillance program for all employees exposed to asbestos at a level greater than the permissible exposure limit. Both cases resulted in corrective actions and the implementation of new safety practices.