How to stay healthy and safe while working with chemical substances – that was the topic of this year’s program of events at ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 within the worldwide celebrations of the World Day for Health and Safety at Work. Traditionally, the program at the power plant at Galabovo Municipality included an interactive seminar and a global webinar, awarding of the Q1 winner in the hazards and near miss reporting competition, and honouring of the people who lost their lives fulfilling their duties at work. 

“Safety at work is a goal that requires our ceaseless efforts and attention. As so many other businesses today we have no other choice but to be prudent in fulfilling our everyday duties and conscientious in observing the adopted safety rules every single minute”, said Garry Levesley, CEO of ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3. “But staying safe at the power plant also teaches us to stay safe at home, on the road, and with our families. Safety becomes part of our DNA, part of our culture.”

The 2014 initiative dedicated to health and safety in working with chemical substances combines in a unique manner two of ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3’s leading values: ecology and safety. Moreover, it underlines the integrated essence and efficiency of the Environment, Health and Safety Management System. 

As a part of the programme, the team at ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 TPP participated in an interactive seminar which taught them how to work with chemical substances, gain command of spills, and act in case of burning with chemicals.

In the morning the workers laid flowers at the Memorial Plate at the power plant paying homage to all the people who died in workplace accidents in Bulgaria and abroad. Standing at the plate where the names of those who lost their lives in the fatal accident at the power plant on October 10, 1994 are written, they promised not to allow any more accidents in the future, to change behavior and to address any unsafe behavior.

The program continued with the drawing of the Q1 winner of the near miss and hazards reporting competition. During the period there were more than 900 reports which were evaluated as part of the quality control of the reporting. The winner, Marian Kunev, whose name was drawn by Quinto Di Ferdinando, Plant Director, was awarded a voucher worth BGN 300. However, this was the only case in which luck played a decisive role in any initiative at the power plant. The competition which is held traditionally every quarter encourages employees to share information and show that they have the feeling of ownership of the plant. It appeals for a more secure and safer working environment and zero tolerance towards dangerous behavior of both employees of the company and subcontractors. This is a particularly strong message on the eve of the repair campaign at the power plant.

The local program was later expanded with a global webinar which presented ContourGlobal’s H&S performance year-to-date, as well as it is an excellent channel for best practices sharing, cultural exchange, and increasing the knowledge among the company’s personnel globally.

The Safety Focus Day is a global internal initiative introduced by ContourGlobal in the early 2013 and held every quarter. It aims at improving the safety indicators, raising the awareness of the company’s staff around the world and developing global safety culture. It is part of the vast Safety Communication Platform of ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 TPP which focused on procedures, best practices, motivation, as well as on the prevention of occupational diseases, prevention of oncological diseases, introduction of the newly-adopted LOTO safety system, etc.

About ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3

ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 is an important part of the large energy family of the international company ContourGlobal, independent power producer. Also the plant guarantees the electrical independence of Bulgaria by utilizing local fuel and supplying the national energy market.

In Bulgaria, ContourGlobal is the majority owner of ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 TPP, one of the four thermal power plants in the Maritsa East Complex. It is the first coal-fired thermal power plant in the Balkans, which operates in full compliance with the highest European standards for safety and environment preservation. ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 produces clean reliable electricity utilizing Bulgarian sourced fuel at competitive a price.