The Vinyl Institute Recognizes Leading Companies for Outstanding Health, Safety and Environmental Performance

The Vinyl Institute (VI) announced recipients of its annual health, safety and environmental awards, which are given to companies in the vinyl industry for improving worker safety and protecting the environment at facilities throughout the United States and Canada. This year the VI recognized 37 facilities with 56 awards for outstanding performance.

These awards are based on facility performance according to federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordable incidents, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), other regulatory permit performance, and the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory data for air and water during the 2017 calendar year.

“The awards signify the vinyl resin and monomer industry’s unwavering commitment to worker safety and environmental performance,” said VI President and CEO, Richard Doyle. “Their focus on safety training, process improvements, and technological advancements have made the vinyl industry one of the safest manufacturing industries. Overall, 34 facilities had no OSHA recordables for the entire year. Even more remarkable are the nine facilities that have gone five or more consecutive years without an OSHA recordable incident.”

Each year the Vinyl Institute proudly recognizes facilities in the PVC, EDC/VCM, plasticizer production, additive production and chlorinated PVC compounding categories that have achieved outstanding performance in four categories: Safety Excellence, Safety Performance, Environmental Excellence and Environmental Honor.

The Vinyl Institute’s Safety Excellence Awards are based upon federal OSHA recordable incidents, which are defined as an occupational injury or illness resulting in medical treatment. The awards, which recognize plants with five or more consecutive years with no recordable incidents, were presented to (in alphabetical order):

• Eastman Chemical Plasticizer/Additive Manufacturing plant, Texas City, Texas (6 consecutive years of performance)
• Exxon Mobil Chemical Company Plasticizer/Additive Manufacturing plant, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (6 consecutive years of performance)
• Formosa Plastics Corporation PVC Compounding Plant, Point Comfort, Texas (7 consecutive years of performance)
• Oxy Vinyls VCM plant, Deerpark, Texas (5 consecutive years of performance)
• Occidental Chemical Corporation EDC plant, Geismar, Louisiana (7 consecutive years of performance)
• Oxy Vinyls Canada PVC plant, Niagara Falls, Ontario (10 consecutive years of performance)
• Shintech PVC plant, Addis, Louisiana (5 consecutive years of performance)
• Shintech PVC plant, Plaquemine, Louisiana (5 consecutive years of performance)
• Westlake Vinyls PVC plant, Geismar, Louisiana (8 consecutive years of performance)

The VI’s Safety Performance Awards recognize efforts to improve worker safety based upon OSHA’s recordable incidence rate. This award, which recognizes plants with no recordable incidents for the reporting year, was presented to 10 companies representing 34 facilities. The recipients (in alphabetical order) of this award for performance during 2017 include:

• Eastman Chemical, Plasticizer/Additive Manufacturing plant, Kingsport, Tennessee
• Eastman Chemical, Plasticizer/Additive Manufacturing plant, Texas City, Texas
• ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Plasticizer/Additive Manufacturing plant, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Formosa Plastics Corporation, VCM plant, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Formosa Plastics Corporation, PVC plant, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Formosa Plastics Corporation, PVC plant, Point Comfort, Texas
• Formosa Plastics Corporation, VCM plant, Point Comfort, Texas
• Formosa Plastics Corporation, Specialty PVC plant, Point Comfort, Texas
• Formosa Plastics Corporation, PVC Compounding plant, Point Comfort, Texas
• K-Bin, PVC Compounding plant, Freeport, Texas
• Mexichem, PVC plant, Pedricktown, New Jersey
• Occidental Chemical Corporation, EDC plant, Convent, Louisiana
• Occidental Chemical Corporation, EDC plant, Geismar, Louisiana
• Occidental Chemical Corporation, EDC/VCM plant, Ingleside, Texas
• Oxy Vinyls, VCM plant, Deerpark, Texas
• Oxy Vinyls, PVC plant, Deerpark, Texas
• Oxy Vinyls, PVC plant, Pedricktown, New Jersey
• Oxy Vinyls Canada, PVC plant, Niagara Falls, Ontario
• Shintech, PVC plant, Addis, Louisiana
• Shintech, EDC/VCM plant, Plaquemine, Louisiana
• Shintech, PVC plant, Plaquemine, Louisiana
• Teknor Apex, PVC/CPVC Compounding plant, Jamestown, North Carolina
• Teknor Apex, Plasticizer/Additive Manufacturing plant, Brownsville, Tennessee
• Westlake Vinyls EDC/VCM plant, Calvert City, Kentucky
• Westlake Vinyls PVC plant, Geismar, Louisiana
• Westlake Chemical, PVC plant, Aberdeen, Mississippi
• Westlake Chemical, Plasticizer/Additive Manufacturing plant, Aberdeen, Mississippi
• Westlake Chemical, PVC Compounding plant, Aberdeen, Mississippi
• Westlake Chemical, Lake Charles North EDC/VCM plant, Westlake, Louisiana
• Westlake Chemical, Lake Charles South EDC plant, Westlake, Louisiana
• Westlake Chemical, PVC Compounding plant, Madison, Mississippi
• Westlake Chemical, PVC Compounding plant, Prairie, Mississippi
• Westlake Chemical, PVC Plant, Plaquemine, Louisiana
• Westlake Chemical, VCM Plant, Plaquemine, Louisiana

The Vinyl Institute’s Environmental Excellence Awards are based on outstanding track record of performance for five or more consecutive years under EPA’s NESHAPs, and other environmental permit requirements. The following facilities (in alphabetical order) demonstrated continued outstanding performance in 2017:

• Formosa Plastics Corporation, EDC plant, Point Comfort, Texas (6 consecutive years of performance)
• Formosa Plastics Corporation, PVC Compounding plant, Point Comfort, TX (7 consecutive years of performance)
• Occidental Chemical Corporation, EDC plant, Convent, Louisiana (6 consecutive years of performance)
• Occidental Chemical Corporation, EDC plant, Geismar, Louisiana (7 consecutive years of performance)
• Westlake Vinyls, EDC/VCM plant, Calvert City, Kentucky (10 consecutive years of performance)
• Westlake Chemical, PVC plant, Aberdeen, Mississippi (5 consecutive years of performance)
• K-Bin, PVC Compounding plant, Freeport, TX (5 consecutive years of performance)
• Teknor Apex, PVC Compounding plant, Pawtucket, Rhode Island (6 consecutive years of performance)
• Teknor Apex, PVC Compounding plant, Brownsville, Tennessee (5 consecutive years of performance)
• Westlake Chemical, Plasticizer/Additive Manufacturing plant, Aberdeen, Mississippi (5 consecutive years of performance)
• Westlake Chemical, PVC Compounding plant, Aberdeen, MS (5 consecutive years of performance)

The environmental criteria for the VI’s Environmental Honor Award include emissions reduction under the NESHAP, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), and EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for air and water. The Environmental Honor Award is presented to two plants, one in the PVC category and one in the EDC/VCM category. The facilities achieving this award for performance during 2017 were:

• EDC/VCM category: Westlake Vinyls, EDC/VCM plant, Calvert City, Kentucky
• PVC category: Mexichem, PVC plant, Henry, Illinois

2018 VI Gottesman Award and Partner of the Year Award Recognitions

In addition to the Health, Safety and Environmental Awards, the VI bestowed the Roy T. Gottesman Leadership Award and the Partner of the Year Award to two individuals during the Vinyl360 conference earlier this month.

The Roy T. Gottesman Leadership Award was established in honor of the Vinyl Institute’s founding director, and recognizes outstanding service to the vinyl industry during a person’s career. This year’s Roy T. Gottesman Leadership Award recipient was Dick Doyle, president and CEO of the Vinyl Institute for his continued dedication and service to the vinyl industry.

And the VI recognized Jane Rohde, principal of JSR Associates, as Partner of the Year for her contributions to the vinyl industry’s outreach and educational efforts. Ms. Rohde is known for championing the global cultural shift to deinstitutionalize senior living and healthcare facilities. She as been a fearless supporter and specifier of vinyl products because she understands the benefits of the material for our society, especially in the healthcare and senior living space.