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20 year safety success for waste teams
A cumulative total of 20 years has been worked without a single lost time accident by teams within the Waste and Effluent Disposition Directorate.
Employees from the Miscellaneous Beta Gamma Waste Store (MBGWS) have clocked up a staggering 13 years without a lost time accident while their colleagues in the Waste Encapsulation Plant (WEP) have worked an equally impressive seven years without a lost time accident.
MBGWS employs some 30 people and has been operational for 19 years. Providing safe and secure storage for Intermediate Level Waste (ILW), it is the sole facility of its type in the UK. Inside the plant the team pack different types, sizes and shapes of waste materials and equipment, minimising the volume for storage. The waste packages are then placed into a temperature and humidity controlled store.
Over 150 employees including operations, engineering and support personnel work in WEP and the plant is currently responsible for receiving ILW arising from Thorp. The waste, which includes material such as fuel cladding, is placed into 500 litre stainless steel drums prior to grouting. These drums are then transferred to the encapsulation plant’s product store.
Congratulating the team, Head of Effluent and Encapsulation plants, John Butler commented: "The excellent Safety record in these two plants continues. Success is down to the diligence and awareness of the management, supervision, plant operators and maintainers and all who enter and leave the plants. A great deal of effort and commitment has gone in to attaining these record breaking safety statistics. We will all work hard to sustain this success in the coming years."
Elsewhere across the Waste and Effluent Disposition Directorate, the Waste Operating Unit which comprises of more than 220 employees, recently reached another major safety milestone having worked one million man hours since the last Days Away Case Rating (DACR).
Head of Waste, Laurence Cook commended the team noting: "This achievement has been realised through a focus on safety by everyone in waste. Team working by a conscientious workforce - one that is aware of how human performance can affect safety performance, have enabled this milestone to be reached. Well done everyone."
