SOCMA: Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 4, 2008

For More Information:
Gregory Minchak
Manager, Public Relations & Communications
(202) 721-4182
minchakg@socma.com

Washington, D.C. - Joseph Acker, President and CEO of the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association (SOCMA), released a blog discussing the value – and need - for companies in having a proper environmental, health, safety and security management system.
 
“I am hearing that some smaller companies in the industry question the value of performance improvement programs.  As SOCMA’s ChemStewards® program continues grow and moves into year three of its three-year cycle, I think it is a good time address why SOCMA and its members believe in environmental, health, safety, and security (EHS&S) management systems.

“The general sense from small companies – particularly those with owner-operators – is this: We have never had any problems, we are doing things right, so we do not need to implement a performance improvement program.  Perhaps.  But think of T2 and Synthon.  They probably thought that way also.  Now they are gone – except for the lawsuits.
 
“Having a program is part of the duty of being a responsible member of the chemical industry.  When facilities have incidents, most of the time these are companies no one is aware of because they are not part of any trade association or any program.  Many times these companies make an accident worse because they are poorly prepared for an accident.”

For the rest of the blog, please go to: http://joesblog.socma.org/

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SOCMA is the leading trade association, serving the specialty-batch and custom chemical industry since 1921. SOCMA’s nearly 300 members employ more than 100,000 workers across the country and produce 50,000 products valued at $60 billion annually. For more information please visit www.socma.com.

ChemStewards® is SOCMA’s flagship environmental, health, safety and security (EHS&S) continuous performance improvement program.  ChemStewards was created from industry’s commitment to reducing the environmental footprint left by member’s facilities.  Industry created ChemStewards to meet the unique needs of the batch, custom, and specialty chemical industry. As a mandatory requirement for SOCMA members engaged in the manufacturing or handling of synthetic and organic chemicals, ChemStewards is helping participants reach for superior EHS&S performance.  To learn more visit www.chemstewards.org.