ACC member companies are committed to the safety of their workers, the safety of their products and processes, and the health and safety of the communities in which they operate. Through Responsible Care®, ACC member companies report on their process in meeting the following safety-related performance measures:

Worker Safety

Worker safety is a top priority in the chemical industry. Responsible Care companies have an employee safety record more than four times safer than the average of the U.S. manufacturing sector as a whole, and more than twice as safe as the business of chemistry overall. In 2010, basic and specialty chemical companies spent about $10.8 billion on programs to improve the environment and worker health and safety.

In 2009 and 2010, Responsible Care companies averaged less than one OSHA recordable injury or illness per 100 employees. This record-low total recordable injury rate is lower than the retail, agriculture, food store, and general merchandising business sectors. Between 2009 and 2010, the Responsible Care employee recordable safety rate improved by 3 percent. Together, Responsible Care companies have reduced their recordable injury and illness incidence rates by 74 percent since 1990, making significant progress toward the goal of no accidents, injuries or harm to human health.

Transportation Safety

There are close to 1 million shipments of hazardous materials occurring daily in the United States, according to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The safe distribution and handling of chemicals is an important indicator of performance, so Responsible Care companies track hazardous material distribution incidents reported to DOT.

In 2009, the most recent year for which data are available, Responsible Care companies reported a little over 750 distribution incidences, the vast majority of which were minor in nature, meaning that no injuries occurred and minimal product and property damages were incurred as a result of the incident. Since 2000, the number of distribution incidents among member companies has declined by 66 percent, while the volume of chemicals shipped only decreased by 6 percent for the business of chemistry overall.

Process Safety

A process safety incident as defined by the Center for Chemical Process Safety is an unplanned event arising from the manufacturing process that results in a product spill, fire, explosion, or injury. By managing, tracking and reporting process safety incidents, Responsible Care companies can benchmark their performance and set goals for improvement. Responsible Care companies publicly report process safety incidents on an annual basis, surpassing government requirements.

Responsible Care companies are working to make the industry even safer for our employees and communities. ACC member companies operate 1,500 facilities nationwide and reported 254 process safety incidents in 2010, down from 531 in 1995. More than half of ACC members had no process safety incidents in 2010. In addition, of the reported 254 incidences in 2010, only 4 percent of incidents warranted a Severity Level of 1, according to ACC’s Severity Rating Index.

Product Safety

Responsible Care companies are committed to managing and communicating the impacts of chemical products on human health and the environment. Product safety has long been part of the Responsible Care initiative, and Responsible Care companies work to increase public awareness and confidence that chemicals in commerce are safely managed.

Each ACC member prioritizes its chemicals according to risks, specifically designating high-priority chemicals, using considerations such as uses, exposures, toxicity, production volumes and other relevant factors and makes this information available to the public. For information about the products ACC members manufacture, view the Product Safety Summary Search Portal.

In addition, globally chemical companies can provide product safety information publicly through an international Chemicals Portal developed by the International Council of Chemical Associations. To date more than 1,400 chemical safety summaries are available, and the number of substances included in this Portal is increasing daily.