The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration recognized the outstanding health and safety programs of PPL's Martins Creek power plant during a ceremony held today near the facility.

OSHA recertified the plant as a "Star" facility under the federal Voluntary Protection Program. VPP recognizes companies that go beyond compliance to protect worker health and safety. The VPP Star certification is the highest safety achievement given within the program.

"Safety has always been a priority at PPL, and the continuing success of Martins Creek's health and safety programs shows that our employees share that commitment," said Larry De Simone, PPL's executive vice president-Supply, during the ceremony. "I commend each employee at Martins Creek. The standard they've set for others within PPL and throughout the industry is enviable."

To determine if a facility is worthy of Star status, OSHA evaluates these components of a safety and health program: management leadership, employee involvement, work-site analysis, training, and hazard prevention and control.

The Martins Creek plant initially earned Star status in 1999. It was the first PPL facility to do so and the first electric utility site to achieve certification in OSHA Region III, which covers Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Six PPL facilities now hold VPP Star status.

Every three to five years, OSHA re-evaluates VPP Star sites for recertification to check for continued improvement in their safety and health programs. OSHA conducted Martins Creek's recertification evaluation in August 2002.

"As a participant in the VPP, [Martins Creek] holds a position as an industry leader in workplace safety and health and serves as a model regarding what a safety and health management system can be," wrote John L. Henshaw, assistant secretary for Occupational Safety and Health in the U.S. Department of Labor.

Companies that qualify for VPP status view OSHA standards as a minimum level of safety and health performance and set their own, more stringent standards for effective employee protection. VPP participant sites generally experience 60 percent fewer lost workday injuries than would be expected of an average site for its industry. Only 932 work sites have earned recognition in the program out of more than 7 million that OSHA monitors.

"Today's recognition reflects the unified effort of employees, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1600, management and OSHA," said Dave Reed, Martins Creek chief steward, IBEW Local 1600. "VPP gets results because it assures employee involvement in a continuing safety improvement process."

Martins Creek is a 1,970-megawatt plant consisting of four steam-electric generation units — two coal-fired and two that can be fueled by either natural gas or oil. Located in Lower Mount Bethel Township, Northampton County, the plant employs about 233 people.