Responsible Care® companies have an employee safety record that is more than four times safer than the average of the U.S. manufacturing sector as a whole, and twice as safe as the business of chemistry overall. In 2006, basic and specialty chemical companies in the chemical industry spent about $2.2 billion per year on programs to continually improve worker health and safety.
Currently, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires chemical companies to report safety information about their own employees, but reporting on contract workers is not required.
In 2005, ACC reported for the first time the injury and illness rates for contractors. This information goes beyond regulatory requirements and provides an indication of the training, hiring and protection practices of the chemical industry as they pertain to contract employees. These data were collected for the first time in calendar year 2003, and it is expected that reporting accuracy will improve over time.
