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OSHA News Release
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Region 10
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Region 10 News Release: # 08-616-SEA (#08-56)
May 12, 2008
Contact: Jeannine Lupton
Phone: 206-553-7620
U.S. Labor Department's OSHA renews safety and health 'star' for Amvac Chemical of Marsing, Idaho
SEATTLE -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will renew the Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) membership at the "star," or highest, level for Amvac Chemical of Marsing, Idaho, in a ceremony to be held at the Region 10 VPP Association Regional Conference on May 14 at 8 a.m. MDT at the Sun Valley Resort, One Sun Valley Road, Sun Valley, Idaho.
The plant's 12 employees are engaged in the formulation of agricultural seed treatment chemicals from raw materials. The facility is joining an elite corps of more than 1,957 worksites nationwide that have earned VPP status. OSHA approved the facility's VPP "star" status for five years.
"The level of safety and health achieved at the site is very impressive," said Richard S. Terrill, OSHA's regional administrator in Seattle. "It shows that with effective hazard analysis, planning and training, work can be done safely."
OSHA's VPP recognizes and promotes the agency's vision of an effective safety and health management system in every workplace in America. VPP approval is OSHA's official recognition of the efforts of employers and employees who have achieved exemplary performance in occupational safety and health.
To qualify for VPP status, sites must meet or exceed all OSHA regulatory standards and submit to an OSHA review of their programs. Companies that have been accepted into the VPP represent more than 270 industries. Program participants typically achieve injury and illness rates more than 50 percent below their respective industry's average.
OSHA has improved workplace safety and health over the past 37 years. This success is reflected in the latest data (2006) showing the lowest national injury and illness incidence rate that the Bureau of Labor Statistics has ever recorded. OSHA will continue to work diligently to focus its resources where they will have the most impact in assuring that every working man and woman returns home safely every day.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.
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