RICHLAND, Wash. – EM’s Office of River Protection awarded its tank farms contractor nearly $38.7 million, or 94 percent, of the available $41 million fee for the performance evaluation period of Oct. 1, 2018 through Sept. 30, 2019.

Washington River Protection Solutions’ (WRPS) fiscal 2019 performance was evaluated against nine subjective criteria and four performance-based incentives. Of the nine subjective criteria, known as special emphasis areas, WRPS received one “excellent,” six “very good,” and two “good” ratings.

The contractor received the “excellent” rating for its safety programs, including implementing a new type of air monitor in the tank farms at the Hanford Site to improve worker safety and increase efficiency.

WRPS also developed an internal tracking system to identify areas requiring routine sampling for beryllium, a hazardous waste, and to monitor worker entries into areas controlled for beryllium.

ORP also recognized the contractor’s “Speak Up, Listen Up” training to ensure workers have the tools to raise and receive safety-related feedback in the workplace. The fee scorecard also noted WRPS’ Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) award for safety and health outreach and a DOE VPP Star of Excellence.

WRPS’ biggest award for performance-based incentives was completing testing and laboratory studies to support primary and secondary waste disposal during underground tank waste treatment, including advanced glasses, secondary liquid waste streams, and secondary solid waste forms.

Areas of improvement for WRPS include prioritizing permit modification actions to ensure planned changes are implemented, and submitting error-free and complete safety analysis documentation that supports tank waste treatment projects.

The fiscal 2019 scorecard for WRPS is available here.