Release Number: 10-125-SEA (10-54)
Feb. 22, 2010
Contact: Jeannine Lupton
Phone: 206-553-7620

Rathdrum Power LLC in Rathdrum, Idaho, receives OSHA's highest safety recognition award

SEATTLE -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is recognizing Rathdrum Power LLC, in Rathdrum, Idaho, for excellence in worker health and safety.

A ceremony at the plant in Rathdrum will be held Feb. 25 to recognize the facility for achieving the VPP star, the highest level in OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP).

"This facility has not experienced an injury resulting in lost time in the last four years. This record is a testimony that management and labor working together to implement safety and health management systems pay remarkable dividends," said Richard S. Terrill, OSHA's regional administrator. "Their outstanding efforts have included significant management commitment and employee involvement."

Rathdrum Power LLC is a two-stage power generation plant with 20 employees working on a natural gas powered turbine and a steam turbine. Electricity produced is routed to a transformer in a substation and the output side of the transformer becomes the property of the Bonneville Power Administration. There is a smaller transformer in the substation to provide start-up and standby power for the facility.

OSHA's recognition programs include VPP for employers and employees who have implemented exemplary workplace safety and health management systems. In VPP, management, labor and OSHA work cooperatively and proactively to prevent injuries, illnesses and workplace hazards. As part of attaining VPP status, employers must demonstrate management commitment to the safety and health of their employees and actively involve employees in the safety and health management system.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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