BASF, DuPont, Other Chemical Manufacturers Pledge Product Safety

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Responsible CareBASF, Dow, DuPont, Honeywell and the rest of the American Chemistry Council’s member companies have pledged to implement 11 industry best practices to evaluate and improve their product safety performance.

The pledge is part of the ACC’s new Responsible Care Product Safety Code that it says goes beyond regulatory requirements to manage the safety of chemicals used products consumers use every day. Adherence to these practices is mandatory and will be regularly verified by independent auditors, the ACC says.

The Product Safety Code requires companies to:

  • Manage the safety of their products, from inception to use, reuse, recycling and disposal.
  • Undertake scientific analyses of their products, with close consideration of how they are used by all consumers, especially children.
  • Provide public access to product safety information.
  • Share information along the supply chain so that products are used safety.
  • Continuously evaluate new information that may have product safety implications.
  • Take corrective measures if they discover improper practices involving a product.
All ACC Responsible Care companies will begin implementing the management practices this year with a phased-in schedule over the next several years. By the end of 2016, the ACC requires companies to have implemented all 11.

The announcement comes as the ACC marks the 25th anniversary of Responsible Care, an industry environmental, health, safety and security performance initiative focused on the safe, sustainable management of chemicals. Participation in Responsible Care is a condition of ACC membership.

Through Responsible Care, ACC members are required to report environment, health, safety and security performance data annually. Data are posted on a public website, which allows the public to see individual company data and compare it to other companies.

The ACC has also developed a new Responsible Care Process Safety Code to expand safe operations throughout the chemical manufacturing process. Companies identify and prioritize the hazards and risks of their processes and promote systems to manage, mitigate and share information about these risks. Implementation of this code is also mandatory for ACC member companies.

The ACC along with the National Association of Manufacturers, American Petroleum Institute and other industry groups last month appealed to the US Supreme Court to stop the EPA’s greenhouse gas emissions rules, which they say are too costly and threaten manufacturers’ global competitiveness.

Environment + Energy Leader