For the second consecutive year, the Department of Energy has awarded the Bechtel-led Waste Treatment Plant project its highest level of recognition for worker safety achievements: the Voluntary Protection Program “Star of Excellence.” The award is given to contractors who achieve an injury rate at least 75 percent below the Bureau of Labor Statistics national average for its respective industry.
“Once again, our employees have exceeded expectations and have taken ownership of their safety and that of their coworkers,” said Peggy McCullough, Bechtel’s Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) project director. “The exceptional commitment to each other’s well-being is paramount in achieving the level of safety necessary at a construction site of this size.”
Laureen Smith, head of Environment, Safety, and Health for Bechtel’s government services business added, “Safety isn’t just a requirement; it’s one of Bechtel’s core values. This award represents the engagement between our employees and managers to improve and maintain an effective safety culture.”
Close to 3,000 workers are employed at the construction project on the Hanford Site near the Columbia River in Washington state. When completed, WTP will safely treat Cold War-era radioactive waste stored in 177 underground tanks. Following extensive commissioning and testing, the plant’s first facility will begin operations as soon as 2022.
Bechtel is an industry leader in the environmental cleanup and restoration of former nuclear weapons production sites dating back nearly 40 years. The company has led the cleanup, remediation, and closure of nuclear waste facilities in Washington state, Idaho, New Mexico, Tennessee, Nevada, and South Carolina.
Learn more about the Waste Treatment Plant here.
VIDEO: Waste Treatment Plant Overview
