United Cleanup Oak Ridge, LLC at Oak Ridge Reservation Recertified as “Star” Participant in DOE Voluntary Protection Program

The U.S. Department of Energy Voluntary Protection Program (DOE-VPP) Team from the Office of Worker Safety and Health Assistance (EHSS-12) recently completed a review of United Cleanup Oak Ridge, LLC (UCOR) operations at the Oak Ridge Reservation. UCOR is an Amentum-led partnership with Jacobs and Honeywell working under contract with the DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. It safely deactivates and demolishes former nuclear facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Y-12 National Security Complex, and the former K-25 uranium enrichment facility known as the East Tennessee Technology Park Heritage Center. In addition, UCOR has recently taken on operations for the Transuranic Waste Processing Center and construction of the Outfall 200 Mercury Treatment Facility.

The DOE-VPP recognizes contractor participants for going above and beyond the basic requirements of DOE safety and health regulations, DOE Orders and Standards, and promotes excellence in contractor safety and health programs. DOE-VPP encourages participants to seek continuous improvement in safety and health through cooperative efforts by managers, employees, bargaining units, and DOE.

After a 2-week onsite assessment by the DOE-VPP team, Mr. Todd Lapointe, Director of the Office of Environment, Health, Safety and Security, recertified UCOR as a Star participant, the highest level of recognition in the program. UCOR was recognized as a Star site in 2015 and last recertified at the Star level in 2019. Since entering the DOE-VPP, UCOR has been awarded seven Star of Excellence awards for outstanding injury prevention, outreach, and mentoring and a Legacy of Stars award for continued excellence in 2020.

A review of the last 3 years of Total Recordable Cases (TRC) and Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) cases revealed that UCOR maintained rates well below the industry average for its North American Industry Classification System code as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

During the course of the assessment, UCOR leaders demonstrated that communication, engagement, and collaboration with the entire workforce is critical to their success. This is especially important when operating in the diverse work environment of the Oak Ridge Reservation and when taking on new workscope. UCOR displayed that it prioritizes a commitment to maintaining a strong safety culture that is deeply ingrained in the UCOR workforce via its safety philosophy and core values.

The Team consisted of Mr. Wallace "Gator" Czapla, who served as team leader for this assessment, Mr. Matthew Ramsey, Mr. Moises Atiles, Mr. Robert "Bob" Meloche, and Mr. Michael Gilroy. Supporting the DOE-VPP team were Mr. Maurice Haygood from the Office of Worker Safety and Health Policy (EHSS-11) and Mr. Don Walker of Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC/Y-12 National Security Complex.

More information on the DOE-VPP can be found here or you can contact the team at [email protected].