News in brief

Employers should take a more active role in preventing and investigating workplace accidents, according to a discussion document from the Health and Safety Executive. `HSE believes it is important for employers to face up to their responsibilities [to prevent harm to their employees] and to be pro-active in managing health and safety risks,' it says. `This means taking more of an interest in the actual root causes of incidents when things do go wrong.'

* BP launches VAM process

A new process to manufacture vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) could offer capital cost savings of up to 30 per cent, says BP Chemicals. Dubbed `Leap', the process replaces the fixed-bed reactors currently in use with a more efficient fluidised bed system. Existing plants can be retrofitted and debottlenecked, BP adds.

* Borealis integrates PCD

Nordic polyolefins specialist Borealis posted a pre-tax profit of DKr337million in the third quarter, with sales of DKr7.5billion. In the first set of results since the introduction of a new ownership structure and the integration of recent acquisition PCD Polymere, the company suffered from the effects of the weakened market for polyolefins. `By continuing to work on synergies and cost management, we are strengthening our competitive position in the face of demanding market developments,' commented chief financial officer Franz Wurm.

* Krupp to use Synetix catalyst

Krupp Uhde has announced that it is to incorporate the latest ammonium catalyst from Synetix (formerly ICI Katalco) into its proprietary ammonium technology. The companies will collaborate on future development of the process, says Krupp, with Synetix acting as sole supplier of the catalysts.

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