OSHA News

Pearl River Becomes 8th Wyeth Site To Achieve OSHA'S Highest Safety Recognition

(July 22, 2008)-- Wyeth announced that its manufacturing and research facility in Pearl River, N.Y., has earned the highest recognition for workplace safety and health from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): the Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) "star." Wyeth Pearl River is the 2,000th site in the U.S. to be accepted into the VPP, and Wyeth's eighth facility in the country to earn the VPP "star."

"This achievement is the result of a two-and-a-half year effort to make workplace safety the responsibility of every employee on site," said Mike McDermott, Vice President, Site Operations, Wyeth Pearl River. "Safety has always been a top priority in Pearl River, and when we applied for VPP, we set our sights on being the best in the industry. We worked aggressively to make improvements in our safety programs, communication, and training, and we are delighted to be recognized as a VPP 'star' worksite."

OSHA's VPP promotes worksite-based safety and health through collaboration between management, labor and OSHA by establishing cooperative relationships at workplaces that have implemented a comprehensive safety and health management system. Acceptance into VPP is OSHA's official recognition of excellence in occupational safety and health. The "star" designation is the highest of three levels of VPP recognition and is reserved for an elite group of worksites that design exemplary safety and health programs, achieve injury and illness rates at or below the national average of their respective industries, and demonstrate their ability to control workplace hazards. Wyeth earned their VPP "star" in the general industry category.

According to Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, with the induction of Wyeth Pearl River, just 2,000 of the roughly eight million worksites in the country have qualified for the VPP. "This is a significant milestone for Wyeth and for OSHA as Pearl River becomes the 2,000th VPP worksite," said Foulke. "The VPP is a merit-based program that recognizes those exemplary worksites where employees and management work together continuously and effectively to minimize hazards, reduce injuries and illnesses, and enhance safety and health."

In April 2008, a team of OSHA representatives conducted a rigorous, weeklong safety and health assessment at Wyeth Pearl River. Among the areas of excellence identified during OSHA's inspection were integration of safety and health matters into manufacturing process documents, and improvements in self-inspection processes.

For more information, please visit www.wyeth.com

Share or bookmarklet this web page at: