EHSS - Office of Environment, Health, Safety and Security
09/17/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/17/2024 11:36
Multiple DOE-VPP Participants Awarded by Voluntary Protection Program Participants’ Association at Safety+ Symposium
In August 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy Voluntary Protection Program (DOE-VPP) celebrated colleagues from its Star level participant contractors being nationally recognized by the Voluntary Protection Program Participants' Association (VPPPA) at the annual Safety+ Symposium in Aurora, CO.
VPPPA Emerging Safety Leader Excellence Award
The VPPPA Emerging Safety Leader Excellence Award recognizes and celebrates outstanding individuals with less than 10 years of experience in the EHS field. They have demonstrated exceptional dedication, leadership, and innovation in advancing health and safety excellence. This award honors the next generation of safety professionals who have gone above and beyond in making a significant impact on workplace safety, regardless of whether they come from a VPP site or a non-VPP site.
Three DOE-VPP participants were honored with the VPPPA Emerging Safety Leader Excellence Award: Ginger Benecke (Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, LLC), Daryl Butler, Jr. (Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC), and Jade Nealious (Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC).
Safety and Health Outreach Award
The Safety and Health Outreach Award honors individuals, companies, or worksites that excel in extending their safety, health, technical, and management knowledge to other departments within their site. This award recognizes those who have demonstrated exceptional outreach efforts to enhance safety and health practices across various areas of their organization.
DOE-VPP participant contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company, LLC (CPCCo), incumbent of the Central Plateau Cleanup contract at the Hanford Site in Richland, WA, received the 2024 Safety and Health Outreach Award.
VPP Innovation Award
The purpose of the VPP Innovation Award is to provide recognition for an individual, company or worksite that has developed and successfully implemented an innovation, encouraged others to try new approaches and emphasized the value of creativity and flexibility in the resolution of worker safety and health problems. The innovation may be program-related or of a technical nature.
United Cleanup Oak Ridge, LLC (UCOR), incumbent of the Oak Ridge Cleanup contract in Oak Ridge, TN, and Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC (WRPS), incumbent of the Hanford Site Tank Operations Contract in Richland, WA, received the 2024 VPP Innovation Award. UCOR and WRPS were both recertified as DOE-VPP Star participants in 2024.
June Brothers Scholarship
The VPPPA June Brothers scholarship recognizes students who are leaders and role models in their schools, communities, and who are entering the safety/health/environmental field. This annual scholarship is granted to one student who is either employed at a VPPPA Full member site or to the child/grandchild/spouse of an employee at a VPPPA Full member site in good standing.
Jennifer Asmus (CPCCo) was a DOE-affiliate recipient of the 2024 June Brothers scholarship.
Sergeant Safety Scholarship
The VPPPA Sergeant Safety Scholarship is intended for students pursuing either an undergraduate or graduate degree in the safety/health/environmental field, and who are either employed at a VPPPA member site in good standing and associated with the Department of Defense (DoD), or a DoD contractor, or the child/grandchild/spouse of an employee at a VPPPA member site in good standing. This scholarship is open to students enrolled in, or enrolling in, a college or university.
Kamdyn Neale of Aiken, SC was the recipient of the 2024 Sergeant Safety Scholarship. She is the daughter of Zachary Ashcraft of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC.
The DOE-VPP promotes continuous improvement in safety culture and safe work practices through cooperative efforts by managers, employees, and bargaining units where applicable. For more DOE-VPP information, visit /ehss/voluntary-protection-program or contact the DOE-VPP team at [email protected].