 |
|||
| ARGONNE HOME PAGE | ARGONNE INTRANET | NEWS HOME PAGE | BACK ISSUES |
| |
|||
| ARGONNE HOME PAGE | ARGONNE INTRANET | NEWS HOME PAGE | BACK ISSUES |
Where did everybody go?
The reorganization of the Environment, Safety and Health Division may have left some employees scratching their heads. "Who do I call for radiological surveys?" "Who approves the purchase and installation of lasers?" "Who collects and analyzes our dosimeters now?"
"Environment, safety and health responsibilities have been reorganized to further concentrate ES&H authority, responsibility and accountability in the Argonne divisions," said Acting Chief Operations Officer Rudy Bouie. "A major part of Integrated Safety Management (ISM) is line management responsibility.
Most of the employees who worked for ESH," Bouie said, "are now working directly for program or site services divisions. This is closer to the goals and objectives of ISM, which calls for clear, well-established responsibilities and authorities."
Control of environment, safety and health resources, he explained, is now placed as close to line management as possible. For example, health physicists and health physics technicians formerly assigned to the ESH division now work directly for the divisions where they conduct their checks of laboratories and experimental areas.
Another example is ESH analytical services, which supports radiation and environmental protection programs. These laboratories are now under the Chemical Technology Division's Analytical Chemistry Laboratory.
Environmental monitoring and compliance programs are now under the Environment, Safety and Health and Quality Assurance Oversight Office (EQO). The Argonne Fire Department now reports to the Plant Facilities and Services Division.
An ES&H Subject Matter Experts core group that supports all divisions has been formed, reporting to Bob Schlenker. This group primarily provides training and industrial hygiene support for the whole Argonne-East site.
The ESH Web site will be continually updated with the most current information related to the reorganization. It will reflect the reorganization as it evolves over time, Schlenker said. The site has a listing of former ESH division employees sorted by name, new division and former ESH section or group. There are also links to the ESH training schedule, the ESH manual, references and other information resources.
The Environment, Safety and Health manual is being updated to reflect recent changes. A revised information and assistance directory for the current Argonne Phone Directory will be distributed to all employees soon. The 2001 Argonne phone directories will include the updated ESH directory.
-- Dave Jacqué
Employees who need information about the ESH reorganization can send their questions by e-mail to eshfaq@anl.gov.
Questions will be answered by managers responsible for the function being addressed. The question and answer will be posted on the ESH Web site at http://www.anl.gov/ESH/.
"This Web site will be a resource for employees as the reorganization takes shape in the months ahead," said David Haugen (EEST), who is coordinating the environment, safety and health program transition.
Haugen cautioned that since the ESH reorganization is still in its early stages, some questions may be answered with a "to be determined" as administrative details are worked out.
Tickets go on sale Monday, March 26, for a concert by "InVenTions -- Music for the Ears and Eyes" Sunday, April 1, at 3 p.m. in the Advanced Photon Source Conference Center, Building 402.
The four-person group includes John Bruce Yeh and Teresa Reilly on clarinet, and T. Daniel and Laurie Willets, mimes who studied under Marcel Marceau. The ensemble will use an innovative comic and visual approach to selected classical music pieces by Bach, Beethoven and others.
Admission is $20. Tickets will be sold in the lobby of Argonne-East's Building 213 Cafeteria the week of March 26 from noon to 1 p.m. The Auditorium Box Office will open at 2:30 p.m. the afternoon of the performance. The concert is open to the public.
The program is sponsored by the Arts at Argonne, University of Chicago and the Illinois Arts Council.
The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) will shortly begin beryllium sensitization screening for former employees of Argonne, Fermilab, the New Brunswick Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy's Chicago Operations Office who have been identified as having had possible beryllium exposure.
ORISE will send a packet of information and a survey form, probably in March, to each former employee who may have been exposed. The packet will introduce the program and ask for their participation. Those who wish to participate will need to complete and return the survey.
Participants will be scheduled for an initial screening beginning in April 2001. There will probably be a series of screening dates. The site for these screenings has not been determined.
Former workers who have questions, or want to be sure they were identified to ORISE, or do not receive the information packet from ORISE, can call Bill Stange, Beryllium Medical Surveillance Program project manager, at (866) 812-6703, ext. 226.
Current employees at Argonne who indicated on the Medical Department beryllium questionnaire that they had been exposed to beryllium at the laboratory will receive an informational packet from the medical director in March. The packet will include an appointment with a staff physician. The purpose of the appointment is to discuss and review the information, answer questions and determine if an individual wants to participate in the laboratory's beryllium medical surveillance program. Participants will be scheduled for a comprehensive examination and sensitization testing.
Employees who are concerned about exposure to beryllium and have not completed a beryllium questionnaire may obtain one by calling ext. 2-2800, or by visiting the Medical Department. Employees who are uncertain whether they have a beryllium questionnaire on file should call the same number.
Any employee interested in participating in medical surveillance because of concern about exposure should contact the Medical Department.
The beryllium medical surveillance program is one facet of the laboratory's Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program. As part of this and other ESH programs, the laboratory will continue to survey possible beryllium-use sites and advise employees in an appropriate manner.
A St. Patrick's Day celebration will be held in Argonne-East's Building 213 Cafeteria Thursday, March 15, from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
"The St. Patrick's Day Party is a great way for new employees to meet new friends," said Loretta Phillips, Argonne Club secretary.
There will be a DJ to provide music for dancing, and food and beverages will be available for purchase. Giveaways will include free lunches at the cafeteria and Guest House and a bottle of wine. There will be a $2 cover charge.
The St. Patrick's Day "Wearin' of the Green Fun Run and Walk" will be held at Argonne-East Friday, March 16, at noon.
The Argonne Running Club's three-mile run and two-mile walk will start and end at the pool in the Lodging Area. Green refreshments will be served at the finish. Rev. Clancy will bless the runners at the start of the run and hear confessions afterward.
Advanced Photon Source Deputy Associate Laboratory Director John Galayda has accepted the position of assistant director for the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) project at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.
Galayda has been responsible for the design, construction, commissioning, operation, and continuous upgrading of the APS accelerator systems. He has had a distinguished career in the development of synchrotron light sources and particle accelerators at the Argonne and Brookhaven national laboratories.
He was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society "for his key role in the design, construction, and commissioning of the National Synchrotron Light Source and the Advanced Photon Source."
"John has made an extraordinary contribution to the APS and to Argonne National Laboratory," said David Moncton, associate laboratory director for the APS. "He leaves an enormous legacy of accomplishment."
The LCLS will be the forerunner to the next-generation X-ray source expected to follow the APS. The APS is a joint partner in the project, with responsibility for the undulator magnet systems.
Galayda will assume his new position in mid-April.
The Teacher's Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA) has announced its interest rates for Argonne's staff and non-staff retirement plans. These rates were effective March 1.
| Plan | Interest | Contributions from | Earned through |
| Traditional | 7% | 3/1/01- 6/30/01 | 2/28/02 |
| Supplemental | 6.5% | 3/1/01- 6/30/01 | 2/28/02 |
"Easter brunch" is on the menu at cooking classes planned by Argonne Guest House Executive Chef Chris Kaminsky on Monday, April 9, and Thursday, April 12.
Classes will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Argonne Guest House. Kaminsky will prepare a brunch, and participants will taste the results.
Class size is limited. The cost is $23 per person, cash, check or charge, with payment due at registration. Mail payment to Kathy, Argonne Guest House, Building 460, or drop off in person.
Rick Stevens, Mathematics and Computer Science Division director, will be among the experts speaking on "21st Century Science" at a series of lectures at the University of Chicago's Gleacher Center in downtown Chicago.
Sponsored by the university's Graham School of General Studies, the public lectures will be held from 7:30 to 9 p.m. one Monday each month from March through May on the 6th floor of the Gleacher Center, 450 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive. Cost for the series is $60, or $25 for individual lectures.
March 19 -- Sean Carroll, University of
Chicago assistant professor in physics, will explain how
astronomers have detected the remnant radiation from
the Big Bang that began the universe and the
subtle ripples in space that led to the formation of the
first galaxies.
April 23 -- David Weiss, clinical instructor in
orthopedics, surgery and rehabilitative medicine at
the University Hospitals, will discuss the ability of
modern medicine to diagnose and treat problems that
arise from injury or aging. He also will talk about steps
people can take that will enhance their health and allow
them to remain active as they age.
May 21 -- Stevens will envision what life will be
like beyond the current high-impact computer
technologies that include the World Wide Web, e-mail and
Palm Pilots.
For more information about the lecture series, call (800) 997-9689.
