Contact: Bonnie Merrill Limbach
(202) 974-5210

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPI HONORS PLANTS FOR SAFETY PERFORMANCE

WASHINGTON (June 18, 2001) – The Occupational Health and Environmental Issues Committee (OHEIC) of The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI) has recognized 238 work sites with safety awards in its 2000 Occupational Health and Safety Survey.

SPI conducts the survey each year to collect statistical information on occupational illnesses and injuries in the plastics industry and to recognize those work sites that have excellent safety records.

Three hundred twenty-one work sites participated in the 2000 Occupational Health and Safety Survey. Of that total, 56 received Distinguished Safety Awards, 59 received Achievement Safety Awards, 24 received Merit Safety Awards and 99 were presented with Special Recognition Awards. A list of award winners is attached.www.plasticsindustry.org/membersonly/public/workersafety/2000awards.htm

Distinguished Safety Awards recognize SPI member company work sites with no occupational injuries or illnesses, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), during calendar year 2000. Achievement Safety Awards are presented to work sites with no OSHA-recordable occupational injuries or illnesses involving lost workdays during 2000. Merit Safety Awards are presented to work sites having a 2000 OSHA lost-workday case incidence rate lower than the national average for their industry and a reduction in their lost-workday case incident rate of at least 20 percent when compared to their previous rate. Special Recognition Awards are presented to those work sites with safety performance for 2000 that is better than the national average for their Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code.

The 321 sites responding to the 2000 survey represented 87,697,342 employee hours for 42,457 employees. The lost-workday case incidence rate for the 321 sites was 4.47 lost-workday cases per 200,000 employee hours worked.

The incident rate, which represents the total number of occupational injuries and illnesses for the responding work sites, was 7.88 work-related injuries and illnesses per 200,000 employee hours worked.

The severity rate, a rate of the seriousness of the occupational injuries and illnesses, was 94.25 lost workdays per 200,000 hours worked.

Founded in 1937, The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., is the trade association representing one of the largest manufacturing industries in the United States. SPI's 1,500 members represent the entire plastics industry supply chain, including processors, machinery and equipment manufacturers and raw material suppliers. The U.S. plastics industry employs 1.5 million workers and provides $304 billion in annual shipments.

OHEIC promotes and protects the interests of the plastics industry in occupational health, safety and environmental matters of industry-wide significance at the global, federal, state and local levels. Among its activities, the Committee provides information and tools for the industry to continuously improve its safety performance. This objective is achieved through safety partnerships with state agencies, as well as safety training workshops and programs. The Committee also supports SPI Workforce Development Program initiatives in machine operator training and certification. For more information on OHEIC worker safety programs, visit www.plasticsindustry.org/public/worksafe.htm; for information on SPI Workforce Development solutions, visit www.plasticsindustry.org/outreach/careers.htm.

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