AIKEN, S.C. - For the third consecutive year, two Savannah River Site (SRS) prime contractors won the state of South Carolina’s Palmetto Shining Star Safety Award for exemplary safety performance.
The award, which reflects safety achievements in 2017, went to EM’s liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation (SRR) and management-and-operations contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS).
The contractors were recognized for having injury rates at least 75 percent below the South Carolina average injury rate for similar industries. The calendar year 2017 injury rate for SRR was 0.29 per 100 employees, and SRNS completed the year at 0.32 per 100 employees. The state’s average injury rate is 2.0 per 100 employees.
The SRR operations workforce recently exceeded a company record of 9 million hours without a workday lost to an injury. In June, the SRR construction workforce surpassed another record - 30 million hours, or 20 years, and counting - without injury.
SRNS, the largest employer of personnel at SRS, attained more than 10 million safe hours in 2017 without a workday lost to injury and recently surpassed 15 million safe hours in 2018.
SRR President and Project Manager Tom Foster said he was proud the SRR team puts safety first no matter the task.
“The significance of safety at Savannah River Remediation never changes," Foster said. “That is why safety is the top value of our company - not just a priority. Winning the Palmetto Shining Star Safety Award again this year demonstrates our continued commitment to safety."
Stuart MacVean, SRNS president and CEO, said the company's workforce has surpassed more than 10 million safe hours on three occasions while performing highly technical and often hazardous work since becoming the SRS management-and-operations contractor nearly 10 years ago.
“Their safety values speak to the heart of our company’s culture, which provides a strong and reliable foundation for completing our missions at SRS and delivering excellence to our clients each and every day," MacVean said.
The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation presented certificates at the end of last month to 26 South Carolina-based companies recognizing safety excellence.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
