American Society of Safety Engineers Applauds Frontline/NY Times/CBC for Series Exposing Workplace Safety Atrocities

1/10/2003

From: Diane Hurns of American Society of Safety Engineers, 847-768-3413; e-mail: dhurns@asse.org Web: http://www.asse.org

DES PLAINES, Ill., Jan. 10 -- In a letter sent today to the New York Times, American Society of Safety Engineers President Mark D. Hansen, P.E., CS,P applauded the New York Times, the CBC and PBS Frontline's 'A Dangerous Business' series that ran this week for raising awareness of the fact that more needs to be done to increase safety in the workplace.

The ASSE also deplores the blatant disregard for human life shown by McWane, Inc. as illustrated in the Frontline program and the series, Hansen wrote. Our more than 30,000 members, occupational safety, health and environmental professionals, work day in and day out to insure that the millions of people who go to work every day return home safely to their families. They are committed to protecting people, property and the environment. Since 1911, when ASSE was formed, much progress has been made in addressing workplace safety, but much remains to be done. Today, nearly 50 workers are injured every minute of the work week; on average 17 workers die on the job each day; and, workplace injuries cost society $170 billion annually -- which does not reflect the cost of grief to families, friends and co-workers as well as, other costs to businesses which generally are not covered by insurance and often are difficult to calculate.

"In this day and age, 6000 people dying each year while at work is unacceptable. The figure should be 0," Hansen wrote. "Putting a paltry price tag on a person's life lost from an accident in the workplace is appalling, and even more so when its tax deductible, as noted in your series. We support increasing the criminal penalties in the law to make killing a worker by blatantly ignoring, hiding and overriding safety regulations, a felony."

Hansen also wrote, "As you noted in the series, companies can be safe and profitable, and many are. Your comparison of McWane, Inc.'s blatant disregard for workplace safety and the Birmingham, AL-based ACIPCO foundry plant that puts workplace safety and employee happiness above profit aptly illustrates this. ACIPCO is not only listed by Fortune magazine as one of the top companies to work for, but for decades has been very profitable. Companies with a focus on workplace safety can and do succeed."

In the past, much growth in the safety profession was regulatory-driven, but today it is very apparent that it makes good business sense to protect people in the workplace. The cost of preventing work-related injuries and illnesses is far less than the cost of correcting them. For instance, your program noted that McWane was hemorrhaging from spiraling workers' compensation costs. ASSE estimates that for every $1 invested in a safety and health program, $4 to $6 is saved because injuries, illnesses and fatalities decline, and medical and workers' compensation costs decrease. Organizations that invest consistently in safety realize improved quality, reduced absenteeism, lower turnover, higher productivity, increased employee morale and a positive brand image.

From a corporate perspective, a November ASSE web site insta-poll of 5000 of its members asking "Do you believe that corporate management is committed to workplace safety and believes that it contributes positively to the bottom line?" resulted in a split -- 51.2 percent said no and 48.8 percent said yes. We need to do more to reach organizations that are not committed to safety. There are a multitude of resources available for organizations that need occupational safety, health and environmental guidance, such as on our web site at www.asse.org, which provides easy access for all to the most up to date material on safety issues, standards and best practices.

Again, Hansen wrote, thank you for raising the public's awareness on the need to act now to increase workplace safety, eliminate blatant environmental crime and to clamp down harder on offenders such as shown in "A Dangerous Business", with their barbaric ways of treating humans. Thank you also for showing that integrating workplace safety into all business aspects, such as ACIPCO does, adds positively to the bottom line tangibly and intangibly. Additionally, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families of those who have lost loved ones and friends from on-the-job accidents and illnesses."

Founded in 1911, the non-profit ASSE is the oldest and largest professional safety organization and is committed to protecting people, property and the environment. Its more than 30,000 members manage, supervise, research and consult on safety, health, transportation and environmental issues in all industries, government, labor and education. Contact ASSE at http://www.asse.org for more information.