DOE Oil Storage Site is "STAR" in Protecting Worker Health and Safety

Louisiana Facility Receives Prestigious OSHA Designation

West Hackberry, LA - The West Hackberry crude oil storage site near Lake Charles, Louisiana, part of the government's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, has become the first U.S. Department of Energy facility to be named a STAR facility by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Only one out of 10,000 eligible sites in the United States has qualified for the STAR designation.

In addition, the facility received a "Star among Stars" award from OSHA's Region 6, recognizing the exceptional record of the West Hackberry employees in preventing work-related injuries and lost work days.

The designations are part of OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program, a program in which a company establishes a cooperative partnership with OSHA to ensure a healthy and safe work environment. DynMcDermott Petroleum Operations Company manages and operates the West Hackberry facility under contract to the Energy Department.

"I want the Energy Department to be the leader in the federal government in maintaining a healthy and safe workplace for its employees," said Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham. "The OSHA recognition is a step toward that goal. I am especially proud of our employees at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and their commitment to worker protection."

The site received its STAR status after a rigorous inspection last year. To be accepted into the Voluntary Protection Program, DynMcDermott employees had to demonstrate that their workplace had an effective safety and health program that conformed to an established set of criteria and involved both management and non-management employees.

The "Star among Stars" award recognizes participants from the five states that make up OSHA's Region 6 - Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. To achieve this designation, West Hackberry personnel had to achieve an injury incident rate and lost workday injury rate that was at least 50% below the Bureau of Labor Statistics national average for the participant's industry category.

A DynMcDermott team spent more than three months preparing for the OSHA inspection, including a series of employee-conducted awareness training about workplace safety and health and the Voluntary Protection Program. Employee involvement extended throughout the site's workforce, including subcontractors.

West Hackberry is one of four Strategic Petroleum Reserve facilities operated by DynMcDermott as part of the government's emergency crude oil stockpile. The other Strategic Petroleum Reserve sites are also part of the Voluntary Protection Program, and two other Reserve sites - the Bayou Choctaw facility near Baton Rouge and the Big Hill site near Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas -- have been recommended for STAR status.

- End of TechLine

For more information:
Jo Ann Rochon, Strategic Petroleum Reserve Project Management Office, 504-734-4731, e-mail: JoAnn.Rochon@spr.doe.gov