ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE – The Occupational Safety and Health administration formally cited the 402nd Maintenance Wing with 13 violations Thursday while conducting maintenance and repair operations in Building 169.

The OSHA action resulted from multi-visit inspections of the work site that began in November of 2009 after workers appealed to the federal agency.

The facility, part of the 402nd Commodities Maintenance Group, houses some 200 employees who fabricate and repair composite components for F-15, C-5, C-17 and C-130 aircraft.

A late Thursday Robins press release offered few details except that the findings “showed the presence of chromium, lead and other contaminants resulting from procedural, equipment and housecleaning issues.”

However, OSHA and Robins internal documents, obtained by The Warner Robins Patriot, paint a much more graphic picture.

The OSHA documents specify two “willful violations,” meaning the center “either knew that an operation constituted a violation” or “was aware that a hazardous condition existed and made no reasonable effort to eliminate it.” Penalties for the findings would total $195,000 if Robins were a private sector entity, the OSHA papers indicate.

The “willful violations” included requiring employees to “dry sweep” in areas where “vacuuming systems were not working properly” and “requiring workers to remove protective clothing and equipment while still inside contaminated areas.”

Apparently Maj. Gen. Polly Peyer, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center commander, was given access to OSHA’s conclusions several days in advance. In a May 18 e-mail, Peyer told Terry Yonkers, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics, that she was “surprised” by the findings – particularly the “willful” allegations.

“We have been working closely with (OSHA) … but had been given no idea of the severity of the violations,” Peyer wrote. She denied the “willful” nature of the findings.

“That is absolutely not true,” she stressed. “Our leadership here was in compliance with policy to the best of their knowledge.”

The focus of the OSHA investigation has been booths within Building 169 used for grit blasting and sanding of various aircraft components and the resulting dispersion of lead, chromium and methylene chloride.

In addition to the “willful” violations, the six-page OSHA summary cited:



· faulty respirator fitting, storage and selection

· failure to ensure surfaces were as free of lead and chromium accumulation as practicable

· exposure of employees to airborne concentrations of chromium 342 times the permissible limit

· exposure of employees to chromium skin hazards due to inadequate coveralls

· failure to require employees to remove all contaminated clothing at the end of the work shift

· requiring the storage of reusable protective equipment in employee lockers resulting in contamination of personal clothing and food

· failure of employees to demonstrate knowledge of health hazards associated with chromium and related engineering and work practices to control exposure

· failure of employees to demonstrate knowledge of the health hazards of lead, cadmium and methylene chloride

· wipe samples of the break room table showing 8.2 micrograms of cadmium; 32 micrograms on the break room coke machine

· requiring employees to monitor methylene chloride manual spraying while not equipped with protective equipment

· wipe samples showing chromium, lead, cadmium, manganese, copper, beryllium, cobalt, vanadium and zinc oxide throughout the building



In her e-mail, Peyer told Yonkers that Robins workers had been “very receptive and responsive” to OSHA comments.

“Maintenance has been in compliance with all process guidance as known,” she stressed.

The center commander said the 402nd CMG conducted a “rapid improvement event” April 19-23 to identify and implement “immediate process changes” to reduce dust migration.

She said mid-term corrective actions would “refurbish, modify or procure equipment” and conduct facility upgrades. Peyer listed longer-term measures of “additional facility and equipment upgrades including a changing room and a central vacuum system.”

In the Thursday press release, Greg Stanley, the 402nd MW vice director, said the findings will be “expeditiously” addressed.

“The safety and health of our workforce is our number one priority,” he is quoted.

He said the unit would partner with the American Federation of Government Employees Local 987, the bargaining agency for most civilian workers at Robins, to “help allay” employee concerns.

Stanley said the wing will look at similar industrial operations “to see if there are practices we can benchmark.”

He confirmed that employees were being kept aware of the findings and credited the Voluntary Protection Program with bringing the issue to light. VPP empowers employees with responsibility for their own personal safety and the safety of fellow workers.

There was no mention of potential harm to workers, although Bobby Tidwell, the safety and VPP representative for AFGE Local 987, told The Patriot during a previous interview that “some bad signs and symptoms” were evident.

“There’s a lot of them,” Tidwell related. “I was there for all the OSHA interviews as people came forward.”

He also praised VPP, saying the OSHA action “shows that VPP works.” Tidwell said the road ahead is clear as far as he and the union are concerned.

“We want to ensure the safety of the workforce and get medical attention to people if they have problems,” he stressed. “But we’ve got to get this behind us and get on with what we’ve got to do in support of the warfighter.”