Safety awards recognise Sellafield project delivery professionals

Safety awards recognise Sellafield project delivery professionals
The Knowingly Safe 24/7 Awards recognised the safety commitment of those working in major projects at Sellafield.
More than 200 attended the Knowingly Safe 24/7 Awards event at Energus in West Cumbria on Thursday 2 July 2026.
It celebrated the 142 people nominated for awards.
Pam Duerden, Sellafield Ltd safety, health, environment and quality director, said:
The Knowingly Safe 24/7 Awards allowed us to recognise the people who make a real difference every day across our major projects.
Taking the time to acknowledge their contribution is important. It thanks thank those who lead by example and highlights the behaviours and values that help keep everyone safe.
Recognition has a powerful role to play in shaping culture. When we celebrate those who are making a positive impact, we inspire others to do the same. This strengthens our safety culture and drives even better performance.
Those recognised at the awards, included:
- Supply Chain Knowingly Safe Award - Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick.
- Knowingly Safe Leader - Lee Rutherford, Altrad Babcock.
- Environmental Champion - Box Encapsulation Plant Product Store 2 Environmental & Water Management Team and Darren Miles, Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick.
- Nuclear Safety Champion - Rosie Harrison, NG Bailey.
- Courage to Care - Ella Dixon, Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick.
- Safety Representative - Donna Hanley, Amentum and Curt Stanborough, DSD Construction.
- Quality Champion - John Innes, March Engineering.
- Knowingly Safe Supervisor - Lewis Tinkler, Altrad Babcock.
- Innovation Award - Sellafield Product and Residue Store Retreatment Plant Electrical Training Facility.
- Knowingly Safe Champion - David Weston, Amentum.
The awards included an emotional moment when Donna Hanley was posthumously recognised. She was recognised with the Safety Representative award. She was celebrated for her outstanding contribution to safety on the Box Encapsulation Plant project. She was also dedicated safety representative and active member of the project’s Safety Circle. Donna was a passionate advocate for her colleagues. She played a key role in driving improvements to welfare, inclusion and safety standards.
Donna sadly passed away after being nominated. The award will now be named in her honour. This recognises her exceptional contribution and legacy.
Andy Sharples, Sellafield Ltd projects director, added:
Safety is at the heart of everything we do across our projects. It shapes our decisions, actions and culture every day.
Making sure everyone goes home safe is our top priority. It’s a commitment to that never stops.
We have a strong safety culture across our projects at Sellafield. We must recognise those who lead by example and help drive our high standards. This is especially important as we collectively deliver our ambitious programme of complex major infrastructure.
I want to thank every single person nominated.
Steve Harnwell, Programme and Project Partners managing director, shared:
It was a fantastic afternoon celebrating our people. This included leaders, supervisors, safety reps. In fact, everyone who contributes to our outstanding safety performance.
Congratulations to everyone who won an award or was nominated. It’s fantastic to see our people recognised for all the hard work they do to stay Knowingly Safe.
The launch of a dedicated Health, Safety and Wellbeing Hub in 2022 has been key to driving industry-leading safety performance. This includes more than 10 million hours worked without a reportable incident (as of May 2026). It is the second time they’ve achieved this milestone since 2019.
The Sellafield site is one of the UK’s busiest construction hubs. It sees multiple major infrastructure projects being delivered.
Every project delivered at Sellafield is a step towards delivering a clean, safe and secure environment for future generations.