Covanta Energy-from-Waste Plant Enters VPP at Highest Level
The Covanta Springfield energy-from-waste plant in Agawam, Mass., has become the seventh Covanta worksite in New England to earn entry into OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs. The Agawam site was admitted for three years of participation at the star level, VPP’s highest level of achievement, following an OSHA team’s three-day onsite review, which included an examination of the facility’s safety and health management system, interviews with employees, and a complete tour of the plant, all of which met with the agency’s high expectations.
”The star designation represents the joint commitment of Covanta Springfield and its 36 employees at the Agawam plant to systematically evaluate, identify, and eliminate potential workplace hazards,” says Marthe Kent, OSHA’s regional administrator.
The Covanta facility joined more than 2,160 worksites nationwide representing more than 270 industries that have earned entry into VPP. OSHA says requirements include a high degree of management commitment and employee involvement; a high-quality worksite analysis, hazard prevention and control program; and comprehensive safety and health training for all employees. The agency notes that VPP companies achieve average injury and illness rates 50 percent below the Bureau of Labor Statistics average for other companies in their respective industries. Other Covanta VPP sites in New England are located in Haverhill and Rochester, Mass., and in Bristol, Hartford, Preston, and Wallingford, Conn.
More information is available from the VPP manager in OSHA’s Boston Regional Office at 617-565-9890 or online at www.osha.gov/dcsp/vpp/index.html.