Innovative approaches fuel UCOR’s national safety award streak
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, September 15, 2026 – United Cleanup Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) has earned its seventh consecutive national innovation award, continuing a multi-year record of improving workplace practices while safely advancing environmental cleanup across the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR).
UCOR President and Program Manager Jim Blankenhorn accepted the Innovation Award at the annual Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association (VPPPA) national conference. VPPPA represents 300,000 workers across the United States and helps worksites improve safety and health practices.
VPPPA honored UCOR for its unique Vegetation Management Program. This program gives crews a standard, safe way to remove plants and manage land across the ORR.
Cutting down trees is one of the most dangerous jobs in the country and carries high fatality rates. Workers must follow strict Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) rules, wear the right gear, complete specialized training, and reduce hazards before starting each job.
To prevent injuries, a team of experts at UCOR created a program that guides workers through these hazardous cleanup tasks. The program uses clear rules and modern protective tools so crews can spot hazards and stay safe across roughly 180 acres.
This program helped workers safely clear more than 40 acres at the Environmental Management Disposal Facility. This landfill will hold debris from demolished buildings at the Y-12 National Security Complex and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, freeing up land for new research and national security missions.
The program also paved the way for UCOR’s first-time self-performance of large-scale tree removal at a legacy disposal area used during the Cold War. The site contained contaminated equipment and debris generated by legacy operations. The program equipped crews with the guidelines needed to safely clear 39 acres of a 100-acre footprint and process the resulting timber without an injury or illness, despite navigating difficult terrain and a heavily wooded area. This progress positions the site for upcoming remedial activities, a vital step to prepare the site for future development.
The Department of Energy Voluntary Protection Program (DOE-VPP) supports UCOR’s innovative approaches. This program honors contractors who go beyond standard safety rules through strong leadership, worker involvement, and continuous improvement.
“This innovative approach toward vegetation management shows what we can achieve with the DOE’s VPP program,” said Blankenhorn. “We must keep improving our safety culture as we demolish older facilities at Y-12 and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.”
In 2015, UCOR earned DOE-VPP’s highest honor, the “Star” status, and the company has kept that rating for over ten years. Working with the DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, UCOR has launched many safety initiatives and logged over 8.9 million work hours without a major safety incident from 2024 to 2026.
Key safety programs include:
- A safety observation program that helps workers spot and report hazards
- The Mission Ready Program, which prepares employees physically, mentally, and emotionally for their daily tasks
- Better safety systems to prevent falls
- A Mental Wellbeing Center
- Physical health and wellness programs
- More than 14 worker-led Local Safety Improvement Teams
These programs encourage workers to ask questions, stay alert, and take an active role in keeping their worksites safe.
“Without our safety experts and support from the DOE-VPP, we would not have the strong safety culture we have today,” said Jimmy Hughes, UCOR Senior Vice President of Safety, Security, Health, and Quality Assurance. “This culture allows us to complete our work safely and prepare the site for future missions.”
Founded in 1985, VPPPA grew from a small network of safety professionals into a community of over 2,200 member sites. Its mission is to promote safety and health excellence through collaboration among workers, industries, and governments.
UCOR is the DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management’s lead environmental cleanup contractor. The company’s 2,200 workers are dedicated to safely removing nuclear production facilities that have completed their missions, clearing land for modernization and enduring science and national security missions UCOR is a partnership between Amentum and Honeywell. Learn more about the company at UCOR.com.
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Photo: UCOR 2026 VPPPA Innovation Award.jpg
Caption: UCOR President and Program Manager Jim Blankenhorn, UCOR Senior Vice President of Safety, Security, Health, and Quality Assurance Jimmy Hughes, and UCOR teammates accept the nationally recognized 2026 VPPPA Innovation Award.
Photo: UCOR Timber Processing.jpg
Caption: UCOR operator clears processed timber from a legacy disposal area.
