VPP Status Recognizes Safety Culture
BUTTONWILLOW, CA - February 11, 2010 - Clean Harbors, the leading provider of environmental, energy and industrial services throughout North America, today announced that its Buttonwillow landfill has achieved Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star status.
VPP is a comprehensive health and safety process that requires employee involvement, management support and cooperation with Cal/OSHA. Recipients demonstrate a strong management and employee safety culture that ensures a safe and healthful workplace environment, with occupational injury and illness incidence rates below the state and national averages for companies within the same industry classification.
The certification followed a three-year safety project by Clean Harbors that was directed by a committee of employees at the 320-acre facility. They analyzed safety procedures and systematically introduced changes to conform to VPP policies. VPP, Cal/OSHA and Clean Harbors representatives conducted inspections and made additional recommendations.
"VPP certification is a rigorous process that was driven by our volunteer employee committee. All of our employees, as well as our contractors, were committed and participated in the process," commented Clean Harbors' Buttonwillow General Manager Marianna Buoni. "The certification process was a natural extension to our traditional focus on health and safety in all of our operations. The VPP designation testifies to our safety culture and our commitment to provide a healthy work environment now and in the future."
The Buttonwillow Class One landfill accepts hazardous waste, including federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) waste and materials that fall under California hazardous waste regulations. The certificate, awarded by the California Department of Industrial Relations, required the endorsement of both federal and California OSHA organizations.
About Clean Harbors
Clean Harbors is North America's leading provider of environmental, energy and industrial services serving over 50,000 customers, including a majority of the Fortune 500 companies, thousands of smaller private entities and numerous federal, state, provincial and local governmental agencies.
Within Clean Harbors Environmental Services, the company offers Technical Services and Field Services. Technical Services provide a broad range of hazardous material management and disposal services including the collection, packaging, recycling, treatment and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste. Field Services provide a wide variety of environmental cleanup services on customer sites or other locations on a scheduled or emergency response basis.
Within Clean Harbors Energy and Industrial Services, the company offers Industrial Services and Exploration Services. Industrial Services provide industrial and specialty services, such as high-pressure and chemical cleaning, catalyst handling, decoking, material processing and industrial lodging services to refineries, chemical plants, pulp and paper mills, and other industrial facilities. Exploration Services provide exploration and directional boring services to the energy sector serving oil and gas exploration, production, and power generation.
Headquartered in Norwell, Massachusetts, Clean Harbors has more than 175 locations, including over 50 waste management facilities, throughout North America in 36 U.S. states, seven Canadian provinces, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The Company also operates international locations in Bulgaria, China, Sweden, Singapore, Thailand and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.cleanharbors.com.
