Wheelabrator Technologies Inc. | A Waste Management Company

OSHA AWARDS ELITE VPP “STAR” CERTIFICATION

CLAREMONT, NH, March 29, 2006 - The federal government today recognized the Wheelabrator Claremont waste-to-energy facility as among the safest industrial plants in the United States. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) awarded the Wheelabrator facility with its elite Star certification, recognizing the facility with its top award for health and safety excellence.

“This is a remarkable and well-earned achievement for the people at Wheelabrator Claremont and recognition for the safety efforts of Wheelabrator employees across the country,” said Wheelabrator President Mark Weidman. “Protecting our people and providing a safe operating environment is a critically important concern for us. We are proud of our Claremont employees and this plant.

The OSHA Star certification represents Wheelabrator’s continuing commitment to have each of its plants reach this high level of safety excellence.”

To qualify for VPP certification, the plants met rigorous OSHA safety and health management criteria, which focus on comprehensive management systems and active employee involvement to prevent or control worksite safety and health hazards.
Today’s honor places Wheelabrator Claremont as one of only 1400 VPP Star certified facilities out of the approximately 7 million U.S. worksites eligible to earn Star status.

Peter Kendrigan, manager of the Claremont facility, commended his employees on reaching the safety milestone. “This is the ultimate goal of every plant in every industry. We’ve raised the bar on staying safe and it was all voluntary,” Kendrigan said.

Wheelabrator Claremont is a 200 ton-per-day municipal-waste-to-energy facility opened in 1989 to serve the disposal needs of communities New Hampshire and Vermont. The plant converts the trash into enough clean, renewable energy to supply the electricity needs of more than 4,000 New Hampshire homes.

Wheelabrator Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Waste Management, Inc., operates 17 waste-to-energy facilities and six independent power plants across the United States. Sixteen other Wheelabrator projects have received VPP Star certifications. They include Wheelabrator's Frackville, PA waste coal-fired power plant and waste-to-energy plants in Concord, NH, North and South Broward County, FL, Hudson Falls, NY, Lisbon, CT, North Andover, MA, McKay Bay (Tampa), FL, Millbury, MA, Spokane, WA, Gloucester County, NJ, Bridgeport, CT, Polk County (Auburndale), FL and Lassen (Anderson), CA.

It is Wheelabrator’s goal to have all 23 certified by OSHA as VPP facilities by the end of 2006.

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