Bethlehem Steel Subsidiary Railroads Receive Chairman’s Award for Safety Excellence

Bethlehem Steel Corporation
For Immediate Release

BETHLEHEM, Pa., July 11, 2001 – Bethlehem Steel Corporation's Subsidiary Railroad Companies were presented the Bethlehem Steel Chairman's Award for Safety Excellence during a ceremony here last month at the steel company's corporate headquarters. The award is the company’s highest form of recognition for safety excellence. This year marks the third time the Subsidiary Railroads have won the award.

Duane R. Dunham, Bethlehem's chairman, president and chief executive officer, in presenting the awards, emphasized to the participants that, "the safety of each and every Bethlehem Steel employee is a fundamental corporate value for Bethlehem Steel.

"Organizations," said Mr. Dunham, "routinely measure the things they value, and Bethlehem Steel closely monitors the safety performance of each business unit. You have demonstrated that to be the best in safety and health in the industry is an attainable goal. The Subsidiary Railroads lead the corporation in overall safety performance and in setting high expectations and standards for safety. Still, the chairman said, "We all know that our greatest challenge is to prevent injuries in the first place -- to achieve our corporate goal of zero lost workday cases."

The year 2000 was one of remarkable achievements by the Subsidiary Railroads.

• • The Conemaugh & Black Lick (CBL), The Philadelphia, Bethlehem and New England (PBNE) and the Upper Merion and Plymouth (UMP) completed this year without a single accident of any kind - that is zero lost time, zero reportables, and zero non-reportables. In addition to the above three railroads, the Lake Michigan and Indiana joined in achieving a zero Federal Railroad Administration frequency rate.
• • The CBL has not recorded an accident of any kind since May 1997, while the PBNE has not recorded an accident of any kind since November 1997.

• • The Patapsco and Back Rivers (PBR) was awarded a Gold Award from the American Short Line Regional Railroad Association and a Bronze Harriman Award from the prestigious Harriman Awards Committee for its 1999 safety performance. As a result of the PBR's ASLRRA Award, the CANAC Corporation made a $1,000.00 contribution to the John Hopkins Pediatric Oncology Unit in the name of the PBR.

• • On May 2, the PBR was awarded the First Place, Harriman Gold Award for its 2000 "best in class" safety performance with a 0.68 frequency rate. The Subsidiary Railroads have won 19 Harriman awards in the last 32 years.

• • The CBL, PBNE and the Steelton & Highspire (S&H) were awarded "Jake" awards by the ASLRRA for their zero lost work days and zero reportables during 1999.

Accepting the awards on behalf of the railroads was Mike Zaia, president of the Subsidiary Railroads.

The award included a $2,500 donation from the Bethlehem Steel Foundation to the non-profit organizations of the winners' choice. The railroad companies designated the Burn Prevention Foundation as the recipient of their award for the organization’s continued efforts at prevention through education.

Units within Bethlehem's railroads group include the Philadelphia, Bethlehem & New England Railroad, Bethlehem, Pa.; Patapsco & Back Rivers Railroad, Sparrows Point, Md., Steelton & Highspire Railroad, Steelton, Pa.; Lake Michigan & Indiana Railroad, Burns Harbor, Ind.; Brandywine Valley Railroad, Coatesville, Pa.; Upper Merion & Plymouth Railroad, Conshohocken, Pa. and the Conemaugh & Black Lick Railroad, Johnstown, Pa. #