York VA Hospital Cited for Asbestos Exposures

It all started with retired Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mechanic Dwight Statum, who took pictures of the York, Tennessee veteran's hospital to protect himself against the future possibility of developing malignant mesothelioma.

Along the way, Statum also hoped to prove that the hospital purposely endangered workers by exposing them to potentially lethal asbestos. Statum himself, who knows all the nooks and crannies inside the massive hospital, having worked there for 30 years as an air conditioning mechanic, recently testified that the VA never gave him, or other employees, protective gear or respirators when working in asbestos-laden areas. To back up his statement, he has pictures of asbestos-covered pipes in the hospital's basement.

If it were just Statum, hospital officials might get by with calling him a disgruntled employee, but Statum isn't the only one stepping forward. According to an ongoing investigative report by NewsChannel 5, which obtained internal e-mails from 2003 and 2004, employees were complaining that their requests - to be provided with a respirator - were dodged by the VA hospital's engineering staff for over a decade.

According to Statum, the hospital never did anything until forced to react after receiving violation notices from the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration, or OSHA, an arm of the U.S. Department of Labor.

After seeing Statum's pictures and documents, OSHA finally investigated the VA hospital and handed down two citations for six violations concerning employees and asbestos exposure. According to OSHA, the VA and hospital officials failed to: determine employee exposure to asbestos, and then failed to notify employees of the location and quantity of asbestos. OSHA also cited the VA for failing to provide protective equipment, including respirators, and failing to mark hazardous areas so employees could avoid them.

Don Beard, who has been working for the hospital for two years in his capacity as head of workplace safety, admits to past lapses in safety and says the citations give the hospital an opportunity to improve. To demonstrate his point, Beard identified new warning signs on doors leading to the basement, and pointed out that the doors are now locked, with only engineering personnel having access.

NewsChannel 5 investigative reporter Ben Hall asked why the hospital hadn't instituted such safety measures previously. Beard replied that hospital employees were aware of the asbestos, and had been for a long time.

The York VA hospital, which is still dealing with the flak from colonoscopies performed with unsanitary equipment, is clearly on the defensive in this new assault. Statum himself doesn't plan to get tested for asbestos exposure because he knows there is no cure for mesothelioma. He hopes, however, that his initiative will pay off for current hospital employees, especially maintenance staff.

The hospital was quick to point out that patients were never exposed to asbestos, but has made major changes in the way it treats employees, including providing protective gear and conducting air-quality tests for asbestos. So far, testing has indicated no problems.

Tennessee Valley Health Care System, which oversees hospital operations, acknowledges the receipt of the two citations, which jointly address six health and safety issues. According to spokesman Chris Conklin, OSHA began inspecting the hospital in February of 2008, and handed down the citations in February of this year. Even before the citations were received, though, the hospital's engineering and safety staff were working on upgrades, Conklin says.

Statum, who retired from the hospital in 2008 because of pressures surrounding his asbestos advocacy, says he hopes he hasn't already contracted mesothelioma. Nonetheless, he isn't sorry he took the pictures or contacted OSHA.

"If you have family, you are forced to do some things you had rather not do."

Sources: The Tennessean, NewsChannel 5

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