Wheelabrator Technologies Inc. | A Waste Management Company

Bridgeport Waste-to-Energy Facility Earns Occupational Safety and Health Administration Safety Honors for Clean Energy Plant

BRIDGEPORT, CT, June 9, 2005—Wheelabrator Technologies announced today that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has designated Wheelabrator’s waste-to-energy plant in Bridgeport, Connecticut as a “Star” site. “Star” status is the highest classification given by OSHA through its Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), and is awarded to companies for exemplary safety and health achievements.

“We’re extremely proud of the VPP Star distinction,” said Vincent Langone, Plant Manager of Wheelabrator Bridgeport. “By exceeding rather than just meeting OSHA’s compliance standards, Wheelabrator continuously improves its safety excellence and raises the bar for all companies in our industry. I also want to congratulate all of our employees; without their dedication to safety, earning the Star designation would not have been possible.” Because Star sites control workplace hazards internally, companies in the program have achieved injury and illness rates at or below the national average in their respective industries.

In addition to the Bridgeport Star award, 12 other Wheelabrator clean energy plants have achieved VPP Star ranking. Nationally, OSHA has awarded just 90 VPP Star site designations in the industrial category in which the Bridgeport facility belongs. Overall, only 1275 worksites out of the 7 million eligible worksites have qualified for this prestigious safety award.

The VPP verification process includes an extensive application review and a rigorous onsite evaluation by a team of OSHA safety and health experts. Created in 1982, VPP programs allow employees and management, along with OSHA staff, to implement new standards and procedures collaboratively.

“By comprehensively incorporating safety and health programs and processes into all levels of its operations, Wheelabrator protects its workers, customers, and contractors more effectively,” added Drennan Lowell, President of Wheelabrator Technologies. “The health and safety of our employees is our highest organizational priority.”

Located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the Wheelabrator Bridgeport waste-to-energy facility processes up to 2,250 tons per day of municipal solid waste from southwest Connecticut. At full capacity, the plant can generate more than 60,000 kilowatts of clean, renewable electrical energy for sale to The United Illuminating Company, enough electricity to meet the energy needs of more than 70,000 Connecticut 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. Twelve 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, Gloucester County, NJ, Falls Township, PA, Millbury, MA and Spokane, WA.

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