Wyeth's 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."
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
"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.
Wyeth Pearl River, which employs 3,200, manufactures Prevnar infant pneumococcal vaccine, Mylotarg, which is used to treat a form of bone marrow cancer, and the Centrum family of multivitamins. Researchers at this location are working on activities are directed to oncology and vaccines therapies, and chemical and screening sciences.
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.
Seven other Wyeth sites in the U.S. that have earned this recognition.
