Wheelabrator Technologies Inc. | A Waste Management Company

Wheelabrator Spokane Project Receives State’s Top Safety Award
WISHA AWARDS ELITE VPP “STAR” CERTIFICATION

Spokane, WA, October 27, 2004 - The state of Washington today recognized the City of Spokane’s waste-to-energy facility, operated by Wheelabrator Spokane Inc., as among the safest industrial plants in the United States. The Washington Industrial Safety and Health Agency (WISHA) awarded the Wheelabrator facility with its elite Star certification, recognizing the facility with its top award for health and safety excellence. The Star certification, through WISHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), is the State’s top safety award, honoring health and safety excellence.

“This is a remarkable and well-earned achievement for the people here at Wheelabrator Spokane and recognition for the safety efforts of Wheelabrator employees across the country,” said Wheelabrator president J. Drennan Lowell. “Protecting our people and providing a safe operating environment is a critically important concern for us. We are proud of our Spokane employees and this plant. The WISHA Star certification represents another step forward in Wheelabrator’s mission to have each of its plants reach this high level of safety excellence.”

To qualify, the plants met rigorous WISHA 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 Spokane as one of less than 1100 Star certified facilities in the U.S. out of 7 million worksites eligible to earn Star status. Only 17 Star certifications have been awarded nationwide in the industrial category to which the Wheelabrator Spokane facility belongs.

Chuck Conklin, manager of the Spokane, 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,” Conklin said. “This award is the ultimate goal of every plant in every industry. I want to personally thank all of the employees for their hard work and dedication, without which, the distinction of receiving this prestigious recognition would not be possible.”

Wheelabrator Spokane is an 800 ton-per-day municipal-waste-to-energy facility opened in 1996 to serve the disposal needs of the City and County of Spokane. The plant converts the trash into enough clean energy to supply the electricity needs of almost 30,000 homes.

Wheelabrator Spokane Inc. is a Wheelabrator Technologies Inc. company (www.wheelabratortechnologies.com), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Waste Management, Inc. Wheelabrator Technologies operates 17 waste-to-energy facilities and six independent power plants across the United States. Wheelabrator Spokane becomes the 11th Wheelabrator projects to receive VPP Star certification. The others 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, and Millbury, MA.

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