Since the bags were not budgeted by the school system, they had to be funded solely by donations.  The cost of each completed Emergency Response Bag was $48 each, or a total of $4320 was needed. Donations were requested from parents, the Parent Teachers Organization and others.

WAI employee Giovanni Barton, whose daughter is a student at North Middle School, requested WAI support through the WAI giving program.  WAI donated money to cover the cost of 20 Command Emergency Response Bags.  With the help of WAI, the two schools reached the goal of 90 bags for placement in all classrooms.

Wellness has begun and it’s making it’s way all across WAI!

A team from the WAI Headquarters, in Piketon, Ohio, participated in the Shamrock Shuffle in Portsmouth, Ohio. Not only did the team get a great jumpstart to the Wellness Program, but also served a great cause at the race.

According to Luanne Valentine, Operations Director for the Community Action Organization (CAO) which benefited from the race, the CAO Summer Food Service Program has served more than 100,000 meals in the past two summers. In 2011, nearly 550 individual youths in Scioto county received meals on a daily basis at 24 sites from June 6 through Aug. 7. In 2012, the number of youths served increased to nearly 725. This increase was due in part to adding nine more serving sites, eight of which were located in Lawrence county. (Portsmouth Daily Times)

The monthly WAI Wellness Newsletter explained that change does not happen overnight, and neither does wellness! The human body was designed to be more active than what is required today. Today, the average American sits at a desk for eight or more hours daily. After leaving work, most Americans sit in their car and go home to sit in front of their television. People use to be required to roam around and constantly move. Technology has thankfully made our lives easier, but we should keep in mind the active lifestyles of the past!

Staying active and focused on healthy eating can lead to:
A reduced risk of chronic diseases
Increased energy and morale
Increased self-esteem
Better weight control
Decreased dollars spent on medical bills
Longer Life
Increased quality of life
Improves mental health

Small changes can help improve your health and wellness and get you started down a healthier path. Even small changes can result in big benefits!
We would like to thank everyone that participated and supported the Wellness Kick off Events all around WAI.

Both events at the corporate office and TWPC were very successful!  We look forward to continuing the wellness efforts throughout April and the rest of the year! You can find wellness information on the Wellness SharePoint site or we will be sending information, events, and updates directly to participating employees!

*CTA Field Work Supervisor
*Deputy Waste ManagementOfficer
*Field Work Supervisor

Click HERE for more information on the opportunities!

Piketon, Ohio – WSDO will be providing landfill management and operation services to Washington Closure Hanford (WCH) at the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF). WSDO will be responsible for the full spectrum of landfill management and operations at the ERDF, and will work closely with all Hanford waste generators to ensure Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) and regulatory compliance during all phases of waste characterization, containerization, transport and disposal activities.

The ERDF is a multi-celled U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-regulated landfill that is authorized to accept, stage, treat and dispose of low level radioactive, hazardous, and mixed wastes generated by Hanford Site environmental restoration activities.  As the Department of Energy’s (DOE) largest landfill, the ERDF is a massive complex that covers approximately 107 acres, with a disposal capacity of 18 million tons.

Steve Moore, President and CEO of WSDO majority partner, Wastren Advantage Inc. (WAI), said this about the recent award by WCH; “We couldn’t be more excited to be supporting WCH. WAI understands how important ERDF is to the overall clean up mission at Hanford and believe we have assembled the best team and best approach to only improve upon the current landfill operations. We will be bringing complex wide expertise to support the already outstanding staff at ERDF and look forward to the challenges ahead. We are equally committed to being a good corporate citizen of the tri-cities community and supporting our client in any way we can.”

Based in Piketon, Ohio, WAI is a Small Business Administration (SBA) small disadvantaged business that performs government and commercial contract work in the areas of waste management, environmental consulting, environmental remediation, and facility support services.  WAI is the recipient of the VPP Star of Excellence Award at two facilities it operates under DOE-direct contracts.  WAI was ranked number 335 on the 2012 INC 500 list of fastest growing companies.

Another year has ended. As we have in the past, let’s look over our top achievements on the WEMS contract during 2012.

1. Our top achievement this past year was SAFETY (as it should be). WEMS completed the calendar year without a lost work day case. We hosted the first VPP Summit which involved personnel from three other DOE sites. Not only were we awarded with our second DOE VPP Star of Excellence award, but we also had a member of our staff recognized for her hard work. Marsha Bevins was recognized by DOE as the DOE-VPP Contractor Champion of the Year. WEMS also received three safety awards from the Bureau of Workers Compensation for our safety performance.

2. COST SAVINGS. WEMS was able to control contract costs through project managment, security initiatives, and the implementation of cost reduction ideas.

3. SUPPORT OF INCREASED SCOPE. WEMS accomplished the increased scope of work directed by DOE at the beginning of fiscal year 2012. The increases in scope for IT support, helpdesk support, roads and grounds, records, janitorial services, property management and shipping and receiving has been substantial. WEMS accomplished this increase of scope by realigning staff, improving productivity and applying innovative approaches to accomplish work — resulting in a cost savings for DOE.

4. RECOGNITION. WEMS was instrumental in PORTS receiving the DOE GreenBuy Award for sustainable acquisitions. We also supported the initiatives that led to PORTS receiving a Best in Class Award for Environmental Management and Sustainability as well as three honorable mentions.

WEMS thanks everyone for their hard work during both fiscal year and calendar year 2012. Our contract is successful because of the hard work each and every employee puts in each day, paying attention to detail, and your commitment to customer satisfaction and safety. We plan on 2013 being another safe and successful year on this contract. If we all work together, towards common goals, while ensuring safety is our mainpriority we will achieve success again.

In a recent article sent out by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), TWPC was highlighted for it’s new Cask Processing Enclosure (CPE) which was mentioned in previous newsletters.

Here is an excerpt from the DOE E-Letter:

In July, the EM program began operations at its new Cask Processing Enclosure (CPE) at the TWPC. The facility is expected to accelerate the site’s remote-handled (RH) transuranic waste processing by two years and save taxpayers almost $20 million.

This is a significant achievement for the site because RH waste presents greater risk due to its higher levels of radioactivity. It also requires more time to process. TWPC’s hot cells have been processing RH waste since 2008, but since the CPE opened, processing rates have more than doubled because of the facility’s added processing capability.

The CPE helps reduce the risk of missing waste processing milestones. While the TWPC’s hot cell is undergoing upgrades starting in February, the CPE will allow RH waste processing to continue despite the hot cell outage. EM is using this time to perform substantial upgrades to the hot cell which will increase efficiency and allow the site to process higher-level RH waste.

In addition, the TWPC is ahead of schedule in its contact-handled (CH) waste processing. The facility reached the 50 percent processing milestone in February — 20 months ahead of schedule — and EM projects to complete CH waste processing by September 2014. To date, the TWPC has processed approximately 87 percent of the original 1,500 cubic meters of CH inventory and 38 percent of the 550 cubic meters of RH inventory.

To read more, click here.

 Both in Piketon, Ohio and Lenoir City, Tennessee, WAI brought smiles to the faces of many families and children throughout December.

In Piketon, the Charitable Contributions Committee (CCC) adopted two families from the local community and provided Christmas dinner, clothing and gifts for the children this Christmas. Furthermore, Piketon employees participated in a Giving Tree where over 50 names were collected and Christmas gifts were distributed to those in need around the community.

The heart of giving wasn’t active in Piketon alone, thanks to the WAI Teaming Partners, TWPC Subcontractors, and site personnel who collected $6,300 and filled 10 Blue Barrels to the brim with new toys, clothing, hygiene items and non-perishable food, in support of the 2012 Mission of Hope Christmas Campaign.

All of the charitable contributions collected from TWPC were distributed to our Appalachian neighbors in economically distressed mountain communities of Northeast Tennessee, Southeast Kentucky and Southwest Virginia.  The Mission of Hope provided nearly 17,000 children with new toys, clothing and basic necessities such as food and hygiene items during the Christmas holiday season. This was only possible because of charitable donations made by generous and kind people who truly care about helping others in need.

Christina Britt and Jessica Britt personally thank the WAI Teaming Partners, TWPC Subcontractors and YOU for supporting the 2012 Mission of Hope Blue Barrel Christmas Campaign.

The WAI CCC was active in other areas, as well. The CCC voted to donate $300 to Elizabeth’s Hope Pregnancy Center, an organization that seeks to comfort and assist pregnant women. Also, Sam Eldridge  discussed the Dr. Gary Snyder Memorial Scholarship  application and process,  and began distributing the applications in area high schools. The scholarship is awarded to a local high school senior seeking to enroll at Shawnee State University who meets various criteria determined by the CCC.

As a successful organization, we embrace the responsibility to support non-profit organizations that enhance the quality of life in the areas we serve. Due to the demand for funds being well in excess of our giving capacity, our contributions will be limited to those groups located in our local communities. To assist in determining the organizations that will be considered, below is a list of categories from which requests will be reviewed:

o Human Services
o Health
o Community Development /Economic Development
o Environment
o Education
o Cultural Activities

Requests given preferential consideration are organizations that meet the following criteria:
1. Involve our associates
2. Improve the quality of life in our community
3. Are tax exempt, IRS section 501(c)(3)
4. Create a positive exposure for WAI

The WAI Charitable Contributions Committee meets monthly and has plans underway that will benefit many groups of people.

The Science Alliance is a two day event in which local high school juniors have the opportunity to learn about the activities that take place at PORTS, the relevancy of PORTS activities to the local community, career opportunities in Southern Ohio and other helpful topics related to safety, health and the environment.

The participants visit different demonstrations from companies associated with PORTS, and others from the community. In some cases, students experience a true hands-on learning experience, like at the WAI demonstration where students participate in a mock waste separating competition with the use of glove boxes.

This year’s DOE Science Alliance took place on September 25 and 26. Here are some of the highlights of the event:

• Over 900 High School Juniors and Teachers
• 50 DOE/Contractor Volunteers
• 35 contractor, university, and agency presenters located in 14 distinct “Demonstration Stations” with interactive exhibits
• 20 Area high schools represented
• 2 full days of education and learning about local job opportunities in Southern Ohio

The Science Alliance Committee was pleased with this year’s event, grateful for all the volunteers  and looks forward to the alliance in 2013.

Piketon, Ohio:  Marsha Bevins, Wastren-EnergX Mission Support, LLC (WEMS) Senior Safety Engineer was named as the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Contractor Champion of the Year for her work promoting safety excellence at the Department of Energy (DOE) Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The award was presented at the 28th Annual National VPP Participants Association (VPPPA) which took place in Anaheim, California August 20 – 23rd, 2012.  The VPPPA is the leading organization dedicated to cooperative occupational safety, health and environmental management systems and combines VPP participants from both Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and DOE.

With 20 years of experience in the safety industry, Bevins was instrumental in obtaining the initial VPP Star Status at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in 2009 under Theta Pro2Serve Management Company, LLC (TPMC).  When the DOE contract transitioned to management under WEMS in 2010 she worked hard to ensure that the Star status successfully transitioned as well.  In addition to recertifying the Star status, the contract has been recognized both in 2011 and 2012 with the VPP Star of Excellence award.  The Star of Excellence demonstrates that the contract has achieved reporting injury/illness incident rates and lost workday injury/illness rates that are at least 75% below the Bureau of Labor Statistics national average within the industry and is also actively involved in VPP outreach and mentoring activities.  As the WEMS VPP Site Coordinator, Bevins organizes promotional events, facilitates safety meetings, and conducts training all year long.  She is constantly thinking and talking about safety and takes her role to heart, ensuring that everyone works and goes home safely each and every day

This annual DOE award acknowledges not only Bevins’ hard work on the job but her contributions to the overall success of DOE VPP. She has served on two VPP assessment teams, and is scheduled to participate on another assessment later this year.  An assessment team is a voluntary team of contractors from a different DOE site that take an outside look at a contract’s safety program to help strengthen any weaknesses that might not be readily apparent in a program.   Bevins actively mentors other companies in safety excellence and the process of attaining and sustaining VPP Star status.  Her coordination of a local “VPP Summit” this summer brought together the VPP teams from four DOE contractors (including contractors from Portsmouth, Paducah, and Oak Ridge reservations) to share best management practices and lessons learned. Marsha is also involved in the OSHA Special Government Employee (SGE) program which allows industry employees to assist OSHA in VPP onsite evaluations.

WEMS believes that if “Safety leads, performance follows” and Marsha Bevins leads the effort to make that happen.

WEMS is the prime contractor to the U.S. Department of Energy performing facility support services at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.  The current WEMS contract runs from March 2010 through July 2015.