Cole Ayres, a UCOR senior industrial hygienist and respiratory protection program administrator, has been named to the National Safety Council’s (NSC) prestigious “Rising Stars of Safety” Class of 2026. The annual global award program, sponsored by Dow, recognizes outstanding safety professionals under the age of 40 who demonstrate a dedication to continuous safety improvement and innovative leadership in the workplace.
Ayres was recognized for designing and implementing an innovative digital tracking and event reporting system for UCOR’s extensive respiratory protection program.
Managing approximately 32,000 respirator issuances annually across complex environmental cleanup operations at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation, the digitized platform replaces manual logs. It enables real-time tracking of manufacturer defects, equipment alarms, and in-service failures, converting raw field data into actionable leading and lagging safety metrics.
Ayres’ technical leadership directly supports the robust safety culture of UCOR, a DOE Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star site. By modernizing equipment and proactively mitigating high-hazard occupational exposures during nuclear decommissioning operations, Ayres’ work has established new safety benchmarks for environmental management programs across the DOE complex.
