[StBernard] Power Stations, Research Lab Latest 'Stars' in OSHA's Firmament

[Westley Annis]

Power Stations, Research Lab Latest 'Stars' in OSHA's Firmament 
November 20, 2007 
Five different operations, four of which are involved in power generation
and servicing, are among the latest "star"-certified sites in OSHA's
Voluntary Protection Programs. The star designation is the highest level of
recognition that an employer can achieve in the VPP. Designed for worksites
with comprehensive, successful safety and health programs, the VPP is open
to all industries and to companies with injury rates below their respective
industries' national averages.

Allegheny Energy's Harrison Power Station in Haywood, W.Va., for example,
earned its star status in part by having an injury and illness rate 51
percent below the industry average. The power station employs 287 people and
consists of three coal-fired units producing electricity.

The 96 employees of Wayne, Pa.-based Merck Research Laboratories, which is
composed of three primary work groups that generate and validate testing
methods for Merck's vaccines and clinical trials, maintained an injury and
illness rate 59 percent below the industry average, contributing to its
stardom.

Meanwhile, three different Entergy Corp. facilities in Louisiana likewise
received stars for exceptional safety and health achievement. The Entergy
Ninemile Point Steam Electric Station, a gas- and oil-fired electrical
facility employing 85 people in Westwego, La., has maintained an injury and
illness rate that is 85 percent below the national average for the industry.

The Entergy Operations Lockport Service Center, which employs 17 people who
operate and maintain power lines that provide electricity to both
residential and commercial customers in Lafourche Parish, including the
cities of Lockport and Golden Meadow, La., and the town of Grand Isle, La.,
in Jefferson Parish, has had zero lost workday incidents in more than 20
years, according to OSHA Regional Administrator Dean W. McDaniel, who said
the company is "a real role model for the industry."

The Entergy Michoud Steam Electric Station in New Orleans, also a role
model, McDaniel said, earned its star membership for an "outstanding record
[that] includes zero lost workday incidents in more than 25 years." The
station, which began commercial production in 1957, is a natural gas-fired
electrical generation facility. Its 50 employees operate and maintain the
equipment needed to generate electricity.

More than 1,860 worksites nationwide have earned entry into OSHA's VPP. The
program has proven over the years to be an effective means of reducing
injuries, illnesses, fatalities and costs, while fostering a more productive
workforce and increasing employee morale, OSHA says.