BEEs to the MICT Rescue!

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Jiffy Seto
  • 436th Aerospace Medical Squadron
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  The 436th Bioenvironmental Engineering (BEE) Technicians are your local occupational health subject matter experts involving industrial workplaces and are the designated 436th Airlift Wing point of contact for the Management Internal Control Toolkit (MICT) Occupational Health (OH) shop-level checklist. The OH shop-level checklist is a 106 question review of the following industrial workplace areas: Electro-Magnetic Frequency (EMF) Radiation, Engineering Controls, Hazardous Communication, Hazardous Noise, Hearing Conservation Program, Ionizing Radiation, Lasers, OSHA Expanded Standard for Chemicals, Respiratory Protection Program, and Workplace Specific Chemical Hazards. The checklist covers all potential workplace occupational health risks even if your workplace may not have every risk present. In those cases, your assessor will check Not Applicable (N/A) to those questions.

Bioenvironmental Engineering inspects all industrial workplaces for potential or actual occupational health hazards to ensure compliance with local, state, and federal laws. Their inspection also addresses compliance with regulations based on Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Air Force Instructions (AFI), and Air Force Occupational Safety and Health (AFOSH) Standards.

Industrial workplaces are categorized either Category 1, Category 2, or Category 3 based on the occupational health risk level. At Dover AFB, BEE inspects Category 1 shops annually, Category 2 shops every 24 to 30 months and Category 3 shops on an as needed basis. However, BEE typically inspects Category 3 shops every five to six years to check for any new occupational health hazard.

Throughout 2014, the Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight has conducted routine Occupational and Environmental Health Assessments throughout the Wing and has documented recurrent deficient MICT checklist items. The attached diagram depicts that spectrum of deficiencies noted so far. Hazardous Communication includes understanding the physical, health and environmental hazards of substances used in industrial workplaces. Hazardous Communication also includes being aware of the Safety Data Sheets (SDS), formerly known as MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets), and the proper labeling requirements to effectively communicate hazards to employees in industrial workplaces.

Although this diagram only reflects the shops that Bioenvironmental Engineering has visited since the development of the MICT shop-level OH checklist, it does reflect potential pitfalls for other industrial shops not yet visited by the BEEs. Your group commanders received this information and diagram during the last Wing Environmental Safety and Occupational Health (ESOH) Council in order to be aware of these common findings.

If your shop has already completed this MICT checklist and want to make sure that your "comply" responses are truly in compliance, contact the Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight at 302-677-2595.