Public Relations Division
Public Affairs Department
1170 Eighth Avenue
Bethlehem, PA 18016-7699
(610) 694-3711 - Phone
(610) 694-1509 - Fax

For Immediate Release

BETHLEHEM, Pa., March 12, 1998 -- Bethlehem Steel Corporation's Subsidiary Railroad Companies and Lackawanna (N.Y.) Galvanized Products, Burns Harbor Division, became the first recipients of the Chairman's Award for Safety Excellence during a ceremony here today at the steel company's corporate headquarters.

Curtis H. Barnette, Bethlehem's Chairman 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. Barnette, "routinely measure the things they value, and Bethlehem Steel closely monitors the safety performance of each business unit. We are very pleased and encouraged with the favorable trends that we've seen in our statistical performance in recent years."

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."

Accepting the awards on behalf of the two business units were Mike Zaia, President of the Subsidiary Railroads, Van Reiner, Senior Manager, Burns Harbor Division, and Gregory Paolini, Superintendent, Lackawanna Galvanized Products.

The awards included $3,000 donations from the Bethlehem Steel Foundation to the non-profit organizations of the winners' choice. The railroad companies designated the Burn Foundation as the recipient of their award and Lackawanna Galvanized Products directed that its prize money be donated to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Center for Applied Behavioral Systems, to support ongoing research to advance safety and health efforts in the workplace and community.

Units within Bethlehem's railroads group include the Philadelphia, Bethlehem & New England, Bethlehem, Pa.; Patapsco & Back Rivers, Sparrows Point, Md., South Buffalo Railway, Lackawanna; Steelton & Highspire, Steelton, Pa.; and the Conemaugh & Black Lick, Johnstown, Pa.