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Serious Accident
Leads to Accelerator Shutdown
A Special
Announcement by Lab Director Jonathan Dorfan
A contractor’s electrician working at SLAC suffered a
serious accident on Monday, October 11. The accident took place in the
klystron gallery of the linear accelerator and involved a 480V
flashover. At the time of writing, the electrician is in critical but
stable condition. The distress to his wife and family is enormous and I
know you all join me in sending our heart-felt prayers for his speedy
and complete recovery.
An investigative team, including experts from DOE
headquarters and other DOE sites, will arrive on Monday, October, 18 and
spend approximately three weeks on-site doing a thorough and in-depth
evaluation of the accident. As is appropriate, the scene of the accident
is sealed off so as to protect the evidence.
In order to emphasize my grave level of concern, I
directed that all work, other than desk and janitorial work and
essential maintenance involving equipment safety, be stopped on Tuesday
October, 12. I also took the extraordinary step of turning off the
accelerators indefinitely to allow us to focus all our energies on one
imperative: SAFETY. Safety comes first–no questions! Safety is
something that all of us must value above all.
Following the one-day total work stoppage, we have
returned to work, but with restrictions in the areas of electrical work,
work on elevated surfaces and hoisting and rigging. The accelerators
remain off until further notice.
There is work on this site that is hazardous. This work
demands an approach of great respect and understanding. It is work that
requires and needs careful planning, training and the use of proper
procedures and protective equipment. I expect you all to know and follow
safe work practices – there can be no compromises. The Integrated
Safety Management approach is the vehicle to accomplish this.
I finish as I started, by sending our wishes of support
to him and his family, and by exhorting us all to look deeply into our
behavior at work to ensure that such an accident never again happens at
SLAC.
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