Safety Hazards Remain At West Haven VA After Double-Fatal Steam Incident: Report

WEST HAVEN, CT — A federal investigation released Monday substantiated a whistleblower's allegations that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has yet to remedy “serious occupational safety hazards” at its West Haven hospital after two people were killed in a steam “pressure event” on the campus two years ago.

On Nov. 13, 2020, Euel Sims Jr., 60, a Navy veteran who was working as a plumbing executive at the VA, and Joseph O’Donnell, 36, a contractor who was working on the steam system, were killed in the incident, police said.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) subsequently issued a “Notice of Unsafe or Unhealthful Working Conditions" to the facility, finding serious, willful, and repeat violations of occupational safety standards for the control of hazardous energy, according to a news release.

The West Haven VA was required to abate the violations cited by OSHA by June 29, 2021. However, a whistleblower disclosed to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel that West Haven VA leadership “failed to do so and that life-threatening hazards remain,” according to the news release.

An investigation by the VA substantiated the whistleblower's allegations, finding that West Haven VA employees “do not follow standard safety procedures to control hazardous energy from the main branch steam line and facility steam stations, and do not receive adequate training on those procedures.”

In response, the agency issued 18 recommendations for corrective action to the West Haven VA and Veterans Integrated Services Network 1.

“I too am distressed by the continued failure to ensure the facility is safe for employees and veterans,” Special Counsel Henry J. Kerner wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden. “It is unacceptable that life-threatening safety hazards remain in place at the West Haven VA despite numerous calls for the agency to correct them. I intend to follow up with the agency in 60 days on the status of the recommendations to ensure that they are fully implemented.”

See also: Double-Fatal Incident At VA Hospital Caused By 'Pressure Event'