The ACC's Occupational Injury and Illness Report (OIIR) showed a 16 percent improvement in the overall safety of member company employees in 2002. Small, medium and large companies all showed improvement, with fewer recordable injury cases and fewer incidents resulting in lost workdays. ACC companies have seen a 42 percent improvement in employee safety since 1993.
"Responsible Care leads to better performance," said Terry F. Yosie, vice president of Responsible Care for the council. "An industry that demonstrates continuous performance improvement in safety applies this expertise and experience to other areas like security, thus positively affecting the lives of all Americans."
According to Yosie, Responsible Care contributes to these improvements through advancements in safety processes and procedures, continuing commitments to improving safety from industry leaders and partnerships with government agencies.
Injury and illness rates among ACC companies historically have compared favorably to other manufacturing sectors. Based on statistics gathered by the federal government, workplaces at ACC companies in 2001 were approximately four times safer than the combined average of all U.S. manufacturing industries and twice as safe as the chemical industry as a whole.
ACC next year will begin public reporting of individual company performance on a broader set of performance measures, including contractor safety.