Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC at Hanford Site 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 Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC (WRPS) operations in Richland, Washington. As the contractor responsible for tank farm cleanup operations at the Hanford Site, WRPS oversees base operations of the tanks, single-shell tank retrieval and closure, Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) support, and supplemental treatment of the approximately 56 million gallons of nuclear and chemical waste stored on the site. This nuclear waste is the result of more than 4 decades of reactor operations and plutonium production for national defense. The systems and infrastructure that support storage of the waste in 177 underground tanks are aging and pose a threat to the environment. The solution to the challenges posed by WRPS's aging infrastructure is to safely and cost effectively retrieve, process, and immobilize this waste, and then execute the compliant closure of the tank farm system so that it no longer poses a threat to the environment. WRPS has managed the Hanford Tank Operations for DOE since 2008.

After a 2-week virtual assessment conducting interviews with management, key program managers and individuals, followed by a 2-week onsite assessment by the DOE-VPP team, Mr. Todd Lapointe, Director of the Office of Environment, Health, Safety and Security, recertified WRPS as a Star participant, the highest level of recognition in the program. WRPS has been a DOE-VPP participant since 2008 and maintained Star status since 2014. Since entering the DOE-VPP, WRPS has been awarded 10 Star of Excellence awards and one Superior Star award for outstanding injury prevention, outreach, and mentoring. In addition, WRPS received two Legacy of Stars awards, one for each four-year period receiving the Star of Excellence award for continued safety excellence.

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 voluntarily seek continuous improvement in safety and health through cooperative efforts by managers, employees, bargaining units, and DOE.

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

WRPS's safety and health management program, and integrated safety management system effectively meets the requirements of the DOE-VPP tenets to maintain a workforce that understands safety and health responsibilities and performs work within applicable procedures and regulations. During the course of the assessment, WRPS leaders demonstrated a commitment to ensuring accomplishment of its mission safely, without unnecessary or unanalyzed risks. This is only possible with its engagement of the workforce in maintaining a strong safety culture that empowers workers to identify issues, recommend improvements, and stop or pause work when questions or concerns arise. Ultimately, the success of WRPS comes from correctly identifying and analyzing hazards using teams of subject matter experts, workers and managers, and maintaining job hazard analyses for all work activities.

The Team consisted of Mr. Moises Atiles, who served as team leader for this assessment, Mr. Michael Gilroy, Mr. Wallace "Gator" Czapla, Mr. Matthew Ramsey, and Mr. Robert "Bob" Meloche. Supporting the DOE-VPP team were Ms. Kristina "Tina" Fehringer from the Office of Worker Safety and Health Policy, Mr. Samuel Core of the Hanford Field Office, Ms. Natira Gulbranson representing RSI EnTech, LLC, Mr. Jay Hocutt and Mr. Richard "Tom" Perkes from United Cleanup Oak Ridge, LLC, and Mr. Jack Griffith of Central Plateau Cleanup Company, LLC.

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