Distribution accidents fall
15 Jan 2000
The British Chemical Distributors Association reports an increase in the number of firms taking part in its Responsible Care (RC) programme. Of the 117 BCDTA members, 92 are committed to RC, an increase of 16 per cent on 1996. The 92 firms account for 85 per cent of the UK chemical distribution and trading industry. `It is the intention of BCDTA to make RC a mandatory commitment by the year 2002.' said John Parkinson, RC coordinator.
Despite growing numbers of participants in RC, the number of incidents has dropped since reporting began in 1993. During 1997, emergency services were called 53 times (76 in 1993) of which 9 involved a serious injury. Half of all cases were the result of a slip, fall or manual handling accident. The BCDTA has yet to analyse why 23 per cent of incidents were exposures to harmful chemicals. Focus groups are to be set up to investigate these incidents.
Only about 25 per cent of distribution association members in Europe report their RC results, compared to the UK's 79 per cent. Reflecting this lead, BCDTA chairman Colin Wainwright is also chairman of the European umbrella organisation for distributors, the FECC.
