RICHLAND, Wash. - Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and other officials gathered last week to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Volpentest Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response (HAMMER) Federal Training Center at the Hanford Site.
The one-of-a-kind facility provides realistic, hands-on, and up-to-date training to site workers, military, national, and international emergency responders, and Department of Homeland Security personnel.
Inslee, who helped establish HAMMER, said it was a great honor to be at the ceremony.
“I really do believe this [HAMMER] is the best safety training in America today," the governor said. “This has happened due to the commitment to our brothers and sisters, who are doing this great work. I’m glad to have played a small role."
During the ceremony, a plaque was unveiled to commemorate AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka’s recent recognition of HAMMER as “the single most important partnership between labor and management in the country."
Nearly 300 people attended the event to show support for HAMMER and to celebrate 20 years of training that has helped people develop and maintain the knowledge and skills to safely complete their work.
“It’s been about asking people to help us build a coalition and a world-class training center that we can use to help clean up Hanford and keep Hanford workers safe," HAMMER Director Karen McGinnis said.
EM Richland Operations Office ’s HAMMER is managed by contractor Mission Support Alliance.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
