The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently recognized the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant construction site for its \ excellent safety performance with the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Superior Star award. Also known as the “Vit Plant,” it is the only Hanford project to receive the award this year.

1. NEWS Bechtel National, Inc.
2435 Stevens Center Place
Richland, WA 99354
September 22, 2011
Hanford Waste Treatment Plant construction site receives
Department of Energy safety award
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Suzanne Heaston, Bechtel National, Inc., (509) 371-2329
Richland, Wash. -- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently recognized the Hanford
Waste Treatment Plant construction site for its excellent safety performance with the Voluntary
Protection Program (VPP) Superior Star award. Also known as the “Vit Plant,” it is the only
Hanford project to receive the award this year.
“The VPP Superior Star award recognizes the employees at our construction site for their
commitment to working safely and watching out for each other,” Ty Troutman, Vit Plant
manager of construction, said. “That commitment is demonstrated every day through their safety
performance and active engagement in our safety programs.”
Each year, DOE recognizes select VPP sites with one of two awards: the Star of Excellence
and the more elite Superior Star. To earn the Superior Star award, sites must report injury/illness
incidence rates and lost workday injury/illness rates well below the Bureau of Labor Statistics
national average. Sites must also meet annual DOE VPP goals and demonstrate strong
involvement in the VPP Participants’ Association (VPPPA) and in VPP mentoring and outreach.
Vit Plant representatives recently received the Superior Star award at the VPPPA national
conference in New Orleans, La.
“We have more than 1,800 people working on four complex nuclear facilities on a 65-acre
construction site; a strong safety culture is absolutely essential,” Frank Russo, Vit Plant project
director, said. “I am extremely proud of our employees for building and maintaining that culture
that has allowed us to reach important safety milestones and to be recognized by DOE with this
award.”
DOE initiated the VPP in January 1994 to promote improved safety and health performance
through public recognition of outstanding voluntary safety programs. Similar to the Occupational
Health & Safety Administration’s VPP program, DOE’s program provides several proven
benefits to participating sites, including improved labor/management relations, reduced
workplace injuries and illnesses, increased employee involvement, improved morale and public
recognition.
The Vit Plant construction site initially earned Star status in July 2010.
(continued)

2. NEWS Bechtel National, Inc.
2435 Stevens Center Place
Richland, WA 99354
Bechtel National, Inc. is designing and building the world’s largest radioactive waste
treatment plant for the U.S. Department of Energy at the Hanford Site in southeastern
Washington state. The $12.2 billion Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, also known as
the “Vit Plant,” will immobilize the radioactive liquid waste currently stored in 177
underground tanks using a process called “vitrification.”
Vitrification involves blending the waste with molten glass and heating it to high
temperatures. The mixture is then poured into stainless steel canisters. In this glass form, the
waste is stable and impervious to the environment, and its radioactivity will dissipate over
hundreds to thousands of years.
The Vit Plant will cover 65 acres with four nuclear facilities -- Pretreatment,
Low-Activity Waste Vitrification, High-Level Waste Vitrification and Analytical Laboratory -- as
well as operations and maintenance buildings, utilities and office space.
Construction of the Vit Plant began in 2001 and is now more than 60 percent complete. The
project is scheduled to complete construction in 2016; will reach commissioning in 2019 and
achieve full operations in 2022.
NR11-17 ###