Region 1 News Release:   BOS 2000-175
Monday, November 27, 2000
Contact: John M. Chavez
PHONE: (617) 565-2075

OSHA TO AWARD AMERICAN REF-FUEL SEMASS PLANT WITH HIGHEST HONOR

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will officially welcome the American Ref-Fuel SEMASS waste-to-energy facility located in Rochester, Massachusetts, into its prestigious STAR Voluntary Protection Program at a special flag and certificate ceremony being held on Thursday, November 30, 2000.

According to Ruth McCully, OSHA's New England Regional Administrator in Boston, the Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) are designed to recognize and promote effective safety and health management. In the VPP, management, labor, and OSHA establish a cooperative relationship at a workplace that has already implemented a strong safety and health program. She stressed that VPP participants are a select group of facilities that have designed and implemented outstanding health and safety programs. In addition, STAR participants meet all of the stringent VPP requirements.

The flag raising will take place at 4:00 p.m. at the American Ref-Fuel SEMASS facility located at 141 Cranberry Highway in Rochester, Massachusetts. Charles N. Jeffress, Assistant Secretary for OSHA, will present the certificate of STAR recognition that evening at 6:00 p.m. at a banquet being held for employees of the SEMASS facility at the Seacrest Hotel and Conference Center, in North Falmouth, Massachusetts.

The American Ref-Fuel SEMASS plant has operated since 1989 and converts more than one million tons of garbage per year into electricity to meet the needs of an estimated 75,000 homes, while recovering nearly 40,000 tons of metal for re-use. Energy Answers Corporation developed the SEMASS facility and the shred-and-burn technology used there. American Ref-Fuel has operated SEMASS since June of 1996 when it acquired a majority interest in the SEMASS Partnership, the plant's owner. The facility employs approximately 195 workers. The company is noted for having a three-year injury incident rate (1997-1999) that is 56 percent below their industry average.

The STAR program, designed for worksites with comprehensive, successful safety and health programs, is open to any industry, and to companies with injury rates at or below the industry's national average. For more information on the VPP programs or other OSHA partnership programs contact the VPP Manager in your nearest OSHA Regional Office or a Compliance Assistance Specialist in an OSHA Area Office. To find the nearest OSHA office look in your telephone directory under Federal Government or call 1-800-321-OSHA.