Environment, Safety
and Health
As the nation’s nuclear energy laboratory, INL maintains a strong safety focus. The health and safety of every employee, both on- and off-the-job, is critical to our mission. INL demonstrates world-leading safety behavior, safety performance and environmental stewardship.
Voluntary Protection Program (VPP)
In 2001, INL was recognized as a DOE-VPP Star site, the first national laboratory to achieve this distinction. INL achieved DOE-VPP Star recertification in 2009, and again in 2013.
Sustainable INL
INL is integrating sustainability performance improvements in the areas that matter most to its stakeholders, including minimizing the environmental footprint, taking a progressive approach to mitigating climate change, and championing energy conservation.
The challenge of implementing sustainability is to minimize the impact to operations while increasing the health and viability of the laboratory. INL’s sustainability program allows us to ensure the nation’s energy security without compromising future generations’ needs.
INL Emergency Services
INL has a robust emergency organization that prepares for and responds to a broad range of potential emergencies. These include wildland fires, vehicle accidents, and the unlikely event of a major chemical or radiological release to the environment.
INL meets theses challenges with detailed plans and coordinates the functions that must occur both before and during emergencies. Emergency planners are located at every major facility and work closely with operations employees to prepare for events.
This broad-based preparedness includes developing plans, procedures, drill packages and program assessments. INL’s largest element is the INL Fire Department and ambulance units with trained advanced emergency medical technicians.
INL’s Warning Communications Center is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days per year to provide INL with the ability to rapidly communicate emergency information to our employees and local, tribal, state and federal governments.
INL Environmental Policy
It is INL’s Environmental Policy to conduct research, development and demonstration for energy and national security in a manner that protects and preserves human health and the environment and is in full compliance with applicable environmental laws, regulations, and other requirements.
Annual Site Environmental Report
As part of the commitment to environmental stewardship, the INL Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER) is prepared annually to inform the public, regulators, stakeholders and other interested parties of the environmental performance at the desert Site during the year.
Pollution Protection
INL works to reduce pollution and minimize waste. Among other things, INL provides property reuse and disposal services.
