DuPont Receives Third Volunteer STAR Safety Award

NASHVILLE - Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development Commissioner James Neeley announced that DuPont in New Johnsonville was chosen to receive the Volunteer STAR (Safety Through Accountability and Recognition) award.

“Today’s award is the third Volunteer STAR certification DuPont has earned,” said TDLWD Deputy Commissioner Bob Henningsen, who presented the STAR award to DuPont today at the company’s facility in New Johnsonville. “The employees at this facility were instrumental in bringing the Volunteer STAR program to Tennessee and became the state’s second Volunteer STAR site in 1996. The site received the STAR award again in 2000.”

The Volunteer STAR award is the state’s highest honor for workplace safety and health and a nationally recognized program. The Volunteer STAR is patterned after the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) and recognizes the best of the best in the area of safety and health programming and performance.

DuPont, New Johnsonville, employs 932 people in the manufacture of inorganic dyes and pigments. The New Johnsonville plant is currently the largest titanium dioxide manufacturing plant in the world. Its production capability represents 25 percent of the U.S. titanium dioxide market and 10 percent of the world market.

For the three-year period 2003 – 2005, the site’s safety record is as follows:

• Three-Year Total Case Incidence Rate (TCIR) is 1.51
  84% below the 2004 BLS industry averages for NAICS 325131

   

• Three-Year Days Away from Work and Restricted Activity and/or Transfer Case Incidence Rate (DART) rate is 0.92
  84% below the 2004 BLS industry averages for NAICS 325131

A certificate of recognition is awarded to the STAR recipient, as is a flag that can be flown at the site. The company is also permitted to use the Volunteer STAR logo on its correspondence and company documents.

The standard for participation in the STAR program is the confirmation of a company’s safety and health program, which helps reduce accidents and injuries. The program also allows employers to be removed from programmed compliance inspection lists for a period of three years.

For more information on the Volunteer STAR award program, contact TOSHA’s Consultative Services office at 800.325.9901.