State of California Department of Industrial Relations Arnold Schwarzenegger

							State of California                                                                       Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor

Department of Industrial Relations
DIVISION OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
1 906 West Garvey Avenue South, Suite #200
West Covina, CA 91790
Tel # (626) 472-0046
Fax # (626) 472-7708




            June 15, 2007




            Kaiser Permanente-Garden Med Ofc Orthopedics
            9449 Imperial Hwy
            Downey, CA 90242

            Dear Employer:

            The Division of Occupational Safety and Health has received a complaint alleging the following
            condition(s) at your workplace, which may be a violation of the Safety Orders found in Title 8
            of the California Code of Regulations.

            CODE SECTIONS                 ALLEGED CONDITIONS

            T8CCR 5142(a)(l) Mechanically Driven Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
            Systems to Provide Minimum Building Ventilation,
            (a) Operation:

            (1) The HVAC system shall be maintained and operated to provide at least the quantity of
            outdoor air required by the State Building Standards Code, Title 24, Part 2, California
            Administrative Code, in effect at the tune the building permit was issued.

                  Employees complaining of mirgrane headaches, dizzy spells while working in
            CASTROOM (Orthopedics section) first floor. Don't know what the hazard is. Maybe due
            to A/C or some other cause. HVAC is on and blowing in Bay 3.



            The Division has not determined whether the hazards, as alleged, exist at your workplace and,
            at this time, the Division does not intend to conduct an inspection of your workplace.

            However, you are required to investigate the alleged condition(s) and notify this Office in
            writing no later than 14 calendar days after receipt of this letter whether the alleged condition(s)
            exist and, if so, specify the corrective action(s) you have taken and the estimated date wnen me
            corrections will be completed.
Page 2
Kaiser Permanente-Garden Med Ofc Orthopedics
June 15, 2007




Please include any written documentation, e.g., equipment purchase orders or contracts for
corrective work, and photographs, if appropriate, in your response. If you do not respond in
a timely and satisfactory manner, an unannounced inspection of your workplace will be
scheduled which may result in citation(s) and monetary penalties. Also, every tenth satisfactory
letter response from employers is subject to verification by an inspection.


You are required to post a copy of this letter and a copy of your response to the Division in a
prominent location in your workplace where it is readily accessible for employee review for at
least three days or until the hazard is corrected.

This letter is not a citation or a notification of a proposed penalty which can only be issued after
an inspection of your workplace. If the Division does not receive a satisfactory response from
you within 14 calendar days after receipt of this letter, an inspection will be conducted.

A copy of this letter is being sent to the complainant. Also, the complainant is being notified
that California law protects any person who makes a complaint about workplace safety and
health hazards from being treated differently, discharged or discriminated against in any manner
by their employer. If a complainant believes they have been discriminated against, it is their
right to file a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement within six (6) months
of the discriminatory action.

If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact me at the address in the
letterhead.

Your interest in the safety and health of your employees is appreciated.

Sincerely,



Tilak Gupta
Acting District Manager


Ref: 206241804-0429-d

lea
State of California                                                                     Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor

Department of Industrial Relations
DIVISION OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
1906 West Garvey Avenue South, Suite 200
West Covina, CA 91790
Tel (626) 472-0046 Fax (626) 472-7708

            July 16, 2007




            Dear

            On 06/11/2007, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health received your informal
            nonserious complaint, (206241804 - 0429), of the following hazardous conditions at Kaiser
            Permanente-Garden Med Ofc Orthopedics, 9449 Imperial Hwy, Downey, CA 90242:

            T8CCR 5142(a)(l) Mechancially Driven Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
            System to Provide Minimum Building Ventilation

            Kaiser Permanente-Garden Med Ofc Orthopedics has advised the Division that the hazards you
            complained about have been investigated and corrected.

            A copy of the employer's response is enclosed.

            Based on this information, the Division believes that the case can be closed on the grounds that
            (no hazard exists.) (the hazardous condition(s) have been identified and corrected.) If you do
            not agree that the hazards you complained about have been satisfactorily corrected, please
            contact this office hi writing by July 26, 2007. If I do not hear from you by July 26, 2007, I
            will assume that the hazard has been corrected and will close the case file.

            Thank you for your concern about workplace safety and health.

            Sincerely,



            Tilak Gupta
            Acting District Manager                                           0429 -g



             Enclosure: Copy of employer's response
                              "J
                              ~*9400 East Rosecraiis Avenue
                               Bellilower, California 90706




         'A
KAISER PERMANENTE
                                                                                             P 9 2007

                                                                                WIST
 June 27, 2007




 Department of Industrial Relations
 Division of Occupational Safety and Health
 1906 West Garvey Avenue South, Suite # 200
 WestCovina, CA91790

 To Whom It May Concern:

 This communication is in response to the notification received on June 18, 2007. A complaint
 was filed alleging employees experiencing "migraine headaches and dizzy spells" while working
 in the Orthopedics cast room. The code section sited was T8CCR 5142(a)(l) Mechanically
 Driven Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning systems.

 The Garden Medical Office Building where the Orthopedics Department is located was newly
 constructed and opened for patient care services in February, 2006. The Orthopedics Department
 is located on the first floor. Air handler unit #1 provides HVAC for the first floor with four zones.
 TAU 1-50 supplies air to the Orthopedics cast room. Before occupancy, the air balance system
 was certified as having 300 C.F.M. from TAU 1-50. On June 20, 2007, a review of the system
 parameters indicated that there were 300 C.F.U. from TAU 1-50. A visual inspection of the cast
 room vents and areas above the ceiling tiles was conducted by the Director of Plant Operations on
 June 20, 2007. No dust or other debris was found.

 Since the opening of the building, there has been routine preventive maintenance of the HVAC
 system. The 30% pre-fiiters were changed every six months. Because of nearby construction, the
 filters are now on a monthly exchange cycle. This schedule began in May, 2007. The final filters
 are 98% filters. The final filters were last changed on June 1, 2007. As part of the routine
 preventive maintenance, the Engineering staff perform visual inspections of the HVAC units and
 biocide tablets are placed in the condensation pans as needed.
 A review of the maintenance logs for the medical office building was conducted. No system
 failures were recorded.
                                9400 East Rosecrans Avenue
                                Bellfiower, California 90706




KAISER PERMANEJMTE



                                             the Orthg^dics^Departmen^^cords of SupervTsor"
 'Reports of Injury were revie^egra^liolie^ere^sjabmitted tor emploveescumDlamiitf oK
 ^symptoms similar to those in the complaint.^o e^loye^presente^To~Tri5~Emptoyee~Health
   5q5artmeT!fwith symptoms similar to those of the complainant.

  On June 25, 2007, anindustrial hygienist performedanjnspection ojjhe_Orthopedics^
  Department. The inspection included the cast roorrfand Bay #3. In the area where~cists are
  removed, there was no fugitive dust from the dust capture system. He did not detect any odors or
  identify any potential cause of the complaint and presented no initial findings.Theinspector
  interviewed staff. No staff interviewed complained of symptoms. Questionnaires were left tor
  employees who were not available for interviews.
     —              •                   ——-—— ~,.-~——-,
  Please feel free to contact me if there are further questions.



  Yours truly,



  Richard Boersma
  Assistant Medical Center Administrator
  Kaiser Foundation Bellfiower Medical Center
  (562) 657-4080


  cc:
  Jane Finley, CEO
  Nancy Keiser, Accreditation Regulatory & License Director
  William Taylor, Safety Director
  Kathy Kigerl, Medical Group Administrator
  Rick Buckrop, AMGA


  attachments:
  Certification of air balance, 8/30/05
  Illustration and parameters of TAU 1-50, cast room
  Floor plan of 1st floor ventilation zones
  Floor plan of 1st floor ventilation and temperature readings, Zone A, Orthopedics 6/20/07
  Floor plan of 1st floor ventilation and temperature readings, Zone B, Orthopedics 6/20/07
  HVAC filter inspection/replacement log: May, 2007
  Ten (10) Preventive Maintenance logs for Air Handler Unit 1: 2/28/06 to 6/6/07