Certification: Every Responsible Care company must certify that it has a modern management system in place to measure, manage and verify its performance. To become certified, companies must undergo headquarters and facility reviews conducted by independent, accredited auditing firms.
Community Outreach Event: An activity involving interaction between company employees and the public where specific information relative to the company’s operations and activities are discussed. These include such events as: meetings of Local Emergency Planning Commissions (LEPCs), meetings of Community Advisory Panels (CAPs), TRANSCAER® events, other community events such as seminars, training programs, and open houses. These events may be held at company sites or at various other locations where meaningful interaction can occur.
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.
Core Responsible Care Companies: Companies that are current members of the American Chemistry Council and, therefore, Responsible Care participants, and have facilities with TRI data for all years represented. A measure of core companies demonstrates progress over time on a static list of facilities, thereby reducing perceived increases or decreases in emissions caused by the addition or deletion of facilities’ emissions to the data.
Core TRI Chemicals: Chemicals that have been listed and reported to EPA under the Superfund Amendments Reauthorization Act (SARA) Section 313, since 1988. Chemicals not included in the core chemicals listing are delisted chemicals, chemicals added in 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, and aluminum oxide, ammonia, hydrochloric acid, or sulfuric acid. A measure of core chemicals demonstrates progress over time on a static list of chemicals, thereby reducing perceived increases or decreases in emissions caused only by the addition or deletion of chemicals from the SARA 313 list.
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:
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Days Away from Work Incident Rate = |
Annual number of Days Away from Work Cases x 200,000 employee hours |
Distribution Incident: Incidents involving hazardous material or hazardous waste reported by carriers to the Department of Transportation (DOT) on Form 5800.1 as required by DOT in 49 CFR 171.16.
DOT Recordable Accident Rate: An occurrence involving a commercial motor vehicle on a highway in interstate or intrastate commerce resulting in a fatality, injury to a person requiring immediate treatment away from the scene of the accident, or disabling damage to a vehicle requiring it to be towed from the scene divided by the number of million miles company equipment was driven in a calendar year.
Employees: All persons on a company’s payroll. Under current OSHA rules, some contract employees are also considered to be company employees for record-keeping purposes. These contractor data must be included in the company’s occupational injury and illness reporting, and in the data the company submits to this website.
FRA Accident Frequency: The total FRA (Federal Rail Administration) Form F6180.54 reportable train accidents filed by each rail Partner divided by the gross train-miles summed for each calendar year to develop the “FRA Reportable Train Accidents per Million Train Miles Index”.
FRA Recordable Injury and Illness Rate: Defined by the FRA (Federal Rail Administration) as the number of recordable injuries and illnesses per 200,000 man hours for a calendar year. The calculation is as follows:
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Recordable Incident Rate = |
Annual number of Recordable Cases x 200,000 employee hours |
Fuel Efficiency: From data currently reported to the Surface Transportation Board as part of each rail company’s annual report - total gallons of diesel fuel consumed as Fuel by Motive Power Units divided by the total gross ton-miles reported on line 104 of schedule 755, Railroad Operating Statistics.
Greenhouse Gases (CO2 equivalents): Total emissions of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxides (NOx), hydro-fluorocarbon (HFC), perfluorocarbon (PFC), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
Greenhouse Gas Intensity: The ratio of greenhouse gas emissions to economic output.
Industrial Production (IP) for the Business of Chemistry: Data based on the U.S. Federal Reserve Board’s index of industrial production for NAICS 325 and where 2002=100.
ISO 14001: ISO 14001 is family of management system standards addressing environmental management issues, developed by the International Standards Organization (ISO).
Management System: A management system is a modern approach to performance improvement that consists of defined organizational responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for developing, implementing and achieving a company’s policies.
Process Safety Incident: An incident that occurs within a Responsible Care company or Responsible Care Partner company in which a chemical process was involved resulting in a significant fire, explosion, chemical release or injury. A process safety incident is considered reportable if it results in (a) a fire or explosion causing more than $25,000 in property damage, (b) a release of a chemical greater than the CERCLA reportable quantity for extremely hazardous substances or a release of 5,000 pounds of a flammable or combustible material or (c) a serious injury arising from a fire, explosion, chemical release or a release of energy or material from a process.
Production pounds: The pounds of material produced at North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 325 facilities in the United States. This data is reported as a single, aggregated number for each company that represents all pounds of NAICS 325 products, including intra-company transfers of products with inherent market value, and excluding wastes and recycled materials. Joint venture production is reported by the operating company. Production pounds are used to calculate the Greenhouse Gas Intensity and Energy Efficiency information reported on this website.
RCMS®: The Responsible Care Management System® (RCMS) Technical Specification is made up of 30 specific requirements covering all aspects of Responsible Care®. The RCMS® Technical Specification is posted below. RCMS certification is available to ACC members and Responsible Care Partners only.
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:
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Recordable Incident Rate = |
Annual number of Recordable Cases x 200,000 employee hours |
Responsible Care®: The U.S. chemical industry’s initiative to improve environmental, health, safety and security performance. Responsible Care is widely recognized as one of the largest and most successful performance initiatives advanced by any industry.
Responsible Care company(ies): “Responsible Care companies” refers to American Chemistry Council (ACC) member companies or members of the Responsible Care® Partnership Program, which, as part of their obligations under Responsible Care, submit annual performance data made publicly available on this website.
Responsible Care® Management System: A Responsible Care management system includes requirements for policy and leadership; planning; implementation, operation and accountability; performance measurement and corrective action; and management systems review. All members of the American Chemistry Council, as well as Responsible Care Partners, are required to apply a Responsible Care management system to their operations. Companies may choose from two management system certification options: (1) RCMS certification, which verifies that a company has implemented the Responsible Care Management System®; and (2) RC14001® certification, which combines Responsible Care requirements and ISO 14001 into a single, more cost-effective process.
Responsible Care® Partner Companies: “Responsible Care Partner Companies” refers to members of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) Responsible Care Partnership Program, who, as part of their obligations under Responsible Care, submit annual performance data that is made publicly available on this website. The Responsible Care Partnership Program extends the Responsible Care ethic beyond America's chemical product makers and throughout their respective value chains: customers, shippers, logistics service providers and others engaged in the business of chemistry.
Responsible Care® Security Code: Under the Responsible Care Security Code - which addresses site, cyber and transportation security - facilities are required to conduct comprehensive security vulnerability assessments, implement security enhancements and obtain independent verification of those enhancements. Implementing the Security Code under a strict timeline is mandatory for members of the American Chemistry Council, as well as Responsible Care Partners. The Responsible Care Security Code is widely recognized as the most stringent security program in American manufacturing.
RC14001: An independent, accredited auditing process that results in the awarding of ISO 14001 and Responsible Care certificates. RC14001 certification verifies that a company has met ISO 14001 requirements as well as additional obligations under Responsible Care, such as activities that address worker safety, security, product stewardship, community outreach and transportation safety.
Toxic Release Inventory (TRI): A publicly accessible database maintained by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which identifies facilities, chemicals manufactured and used at the identified facilities, and the annual amounts of these chemicals released (in routine operations and in accidents and other one-time events) and otherwise managed on- and off-site in waste.
TRI data/SARA 313 Report: Releases of chemicals listed and reported to EPA under the Superfund Amendments Reauthorization Act (SARA) Section 313. Includes releases to air, land, and water as measured and reported by individual member companies on EPA’s SARA 313 report. Responsible Care reporting does not include underground injection or, to avoid double-counting of emissions, off-site transfers for disposal. EPA’s TRI Report includes both underground injection and off-site transfers as releases.
