MEMBERS Printer friendly version

Worker Safety

  • Between 2007 and 2008, the Responsible Care employee recordable safety rate has improved 16 percent.
  • Together, Responsible Care companies1 have reduced their recordable injury and illness incidence rates3 by 72 percent since 1990.
  • Data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that the business of chemistry has recordable incidence rates3 approximately one-half that of manufacturing as a whole. Workers are safer in the chemistry business than those in retailing, agriculture, food stores, and general merchandising businesses.
  • The business of chemistry2 has achieved continual progress in improving worker safety, largely as a result of eliminating job hazards and the industry’s implementation of effective safety programs.
  • Furthermore, Responsible Care companies1 are twice as safe as the business of chemistry2 and more than four times safer than the average of the U.S. manufacturing sector as a whole.
  • Responsible Care company contractor5 incidence rates were collected for the first time in 2003. There is no regulatory requirement to collect this data and as such, companies are gaining experience in reporting this data. It is expected that reporting accuracy will improve over time. Currently, contractors have improved their recordable safety rate by 23 percent since 2003. The data also show that since 2003, the days away from work4 rate for contractors has been reduced by 21 percent.
 
Recordable Occupational Injury and Illness Incidence Rates3: Manufacturing, the Business of Chemistry2, Responsible Care Company1 Employees and Responsible Care Company Contractors5
 
 
  1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Manufacturing 13.2 12.7 12.5 12.1 12.2 11.6 10.6 10.3 9.7 9.2 9.0 8.1 7.2 6.8 6.6 6.3 6.0 5.6 Not
Available
Business of Chemistry 6.5 6.4 6.0 5.9 5.7 5.5 4.8 4.8 4.2 4.4 4.2 4.0 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.2 2.9 3.1 Not
Available
Responsible Care Companies 3.61 3.18 3.15 2.93 2.82 2.50 2.16 2.02 1.86 2.13 2.16 2.01 1.72 1.62 1.46 1.23 1.18 1.23 1.03
Responsible Care Company Contractors                           1.06 1.17 1.05 0.90 0.83 0.82
Recordable Injury and Illness Rate: Defined by OSHA as the number of recordable incidents for each 100 full-time employees per year, based on 2,000 hours worked per employee per year. The calculation is as follows:
 
Recordable Incident Rate = Annual number of Recordable Cases x 200,000 employee hours
  Annual number of employee hours worked
 
 
Recordable Occupational Injury and Illness Incidence Rates3: General Merchandise Stores, Food Stores, Agriculture, Retail Trade, the Business of Chemistry2 and Responsible Care Companies1
 
 
  1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
General Merchandise Store           10.0 9.7 9.2 9.0 8.5 8.2 7.8 7.7 7.2 7.0 6.7 6.7 6.4 Not
Available
Food Stores           9.0 9.4 8.9 8.4 7.9 8.0 7.5 6.8 6.8 6.4 6 5.9 5.9 Not
Available
Retail Trade     8.7 8.2 7.9 7.5 6.9 6.8 6.5 6.1 5.9 5.7 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.0 4.9 4.8 Not
Available
Agriculture     10.0 9.7 8.7 8.4 7.9 7.3 7.6 7.6 7.3 6.2 6.4 6.2 6.4 6.1 6.0 5.4 Not
Available
Business of Chemistry 6.5 6.4 6.0 5.9 5.7 5.5 4.8 4.8 4.2 4.4 4.2 4.0 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.2 2.9 3.1 Not
Available
Responsible Care Companies 3.61 3.18 3.15 2.93 2.82 2.50 2.16 2.02 1.86 2.13 2.16 2.01 1.72 1.62 1.46 1.23 1.18 1.23 1.03
Note: Until 2003, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collected and organized the data for the incidence rate of recordable occupational injury and illness using SIC nomenclature. Beginning in 2004, the BLS began to use the NAICS nomenclature. In some cases this change creates a break in the time series. However, for the industries listed above, at this aggregate level, any differences created by the break in definitional scope should be minor.
 
 
 
 
Employees and Responsible Care Company Contractors5
 
 
  1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Manufacturing 3.9 3.5 3.3 3.2 2.9 2.5 2.4 2.3 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.3 Not
Available
Business of Chemistry 1.9 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.3 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.8 Not
Available
Responsible Care Companies       0.56 0.49 0.37 0.37 0.36 0.38 0.36 0.37 0.38 0.34 0.32 0.29 0.27 0.25 0.24
Responsible Care Company Contractors                         0.19 0.20 0.24 0.17 0.18 0.15
Days Away from Work Incident Rate: Defined by OSHA as the number of incidents resulting in days away from work for each 100 full-time employees per year, based on 2,000 hours worked per employee per year. The calculation is as follows:
 
Days Away from Work Incidence Rate = Annual number of Days Away from Work Cases x 200,000 employee hours
  Annual number of employee hours worked
 
 
About These Data
All criteria for classifying injuries, illnesses and fatalities is consistent with those prescribed by OSHA for annual record keeping purposes.

Data for Recordable Occupational Injury and Illness Incidence Rates and Occupational Days Away From Work Rates for manufacturing and for the business of chemistry are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Data for 2003 is the latest available from the BLS.

For more information on federally reported safety data, contact the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
 
 
Notes
1Responsible Care Companies: Refers to members of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), which, as part of their obligations under the Responsible Care program, submit annual performance data that is made publicly available on this website.

2The Business of Chemistry: Based on the U.S. government’s North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 325. Includes inorganic and organic chemicals, synthetic materials, specialties, agricultural chemicals, pharmaceuticals, soaps and detergents, and other chemical products. Where company-specific data are not available, particularly in the area of economics, business of chemistry data are used to approximate Responsible Care companies. Responsible Care companies represent a sub-segment of the business of chemistry.

3Recordable Occupational Injury and Illness Incidence Rate: Defined by OSHA as the number of recordable incidents for each 100 full-time employees per year, based on 2,000 hours worked per employee per year. See calculation above.

4Days Away from Work Incidence Rate: Defined by OSHA as the number of incidents resulting in days away from work for each 100 full-time employees per year, based on 2,000 hours worked per employee per year. See calculation above.

5Responsible Care Company Contractors: Those persons who are not considered the chemical company’s employees for OSHA recordkeeping purposes but who are under contract, subcontract or purchase order to provide on-site services at Responsible Care company premises. Examples of work that might fall under the contractor definition include, but are not limited to: maintenance, construction, security, engineering consulting, janitorial, food service, information management and training.