What happened on the day two workers died in West Haven, Virginia

      The West Haven campus of the Connecticut Health Care System in Virginia as seen from West Spring Street on July 20, 2021.
       Investigators also accused Virginia of lacking procedures designed to protect workers in hazardous materials situations. The lockout/tagout system prevents anyone except the person who turned off the steam from turning on the steam again.
       According to the report: “A VA lock and chain were found in the space near the room valve, indicating that the system may have been locked. However, the system’s lockout and tagout (LOTO) log, permit, or LOTO program does not exist. Staff Neither the search of the office nor the LOTO logs or procedures for these valves or buildings were found.”

       There are also problems with communication between safety, pipelines and engineering personnel: “The boiler plant was not notified of this closure, nor was it notified that it would continue to shut down. It is not clear whether the engineering leadership or the safety department knew about the work that took place on this day,” the report pointed out. “The team was unable to determine why the contractor was in the machine room. The team found no evidence that the contractor applied additional locks.”
       On May 12, OSHA issued nine notices regarding unsafe or unhealthy working conditions in Connecticut and Virginia, including failure to notify boiler plant operators of the cancellation/listing quarantine in the line; failure to inform Mulvaney Mechanical of its LOTO procedures; and no Ensure that “machines or equipment are shut down in an orderly manner” so that condensate can be drained from the system. It says that “there are no procedures to develop, document and use procedures to control potentially hazardous energy” or technology used to operate valves.
       In addition, OSHA found that the VA did not ensure that the workplace was free of hazards that could lead to death or injury, and that supervisors had not received training on how to identify and reduce hazards within the scope of their duties.
       In 2015, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had previously mentioned three violations: energy control procedures were not inspected at least once a year; no training was provided after the installation of a new steam line valve in Building 22; employees did not give personal lotto The equipment is affixed to the team lotto equipment.
       “If employers comply with safety standards designed to prevent the uncontrolled release of steam, these deaths can be avoided,” OSHA Regional Director Steven Biasi said at the time. “Sadly, these well-known protection measures were not in place, and two workers were killed unnecessarily.”
       The entrance to Campbell Avenue at the West Haven campus of the Connecticut Health Care System in Virginia was taken on July 20, 2021.
       West Haven VA Medical Center spokesperson Pamela Redmond said in an email that the Connecticut VA system “has been working hard since the tragic incident on November 13, 2020 to improve safety and The safety procedures have undergone a major update.”
       The West Haven campus of the Connecticut Health Care System in Virginia as seen from Spring Street on July 20, 2021.
       Facility management service personnel “are redesigning or dismantling the building 22 steam system. Once the new system is installed, a new LO/TO procedure will be developed,” she wrote.
       She also said: “On December 20, 2020, a double shut-off and bleed valve system was installed in the boiler plant on the steam main of Building 22 where the accident occurred. The new valve system can release stored or residual energy, such as Condensate drained from the system.”