OxyChem receives state’s top safety award

OxyChem receives state’s top safety award

LUDINGTON —  The OxyChem Ludington calcium chloride manufacturing plant earned a renewal of its status as a Safety Through Accountability and Recognition (STAR) participant in the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration Safety (MIOSHA) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP).

The MIOSHA VPP STAR status award is the state’s highest honor for workplace safety and health and includes a rigorous onsite evaluation by a team of MIOSHA safety and health experts. The OxyChem Ludington site is one of 26 Michigan VPP STAR sites and earned its VPP STAR status in 2002.

“OxyChem’s Ludington plant is proud to be recognized as one of the safest work sites in the United States,” said OxyChem Plant Manager Matthew Wilkins. “This achievement affirms our dedication to safety excellence. The teamwork and commitment to safety demonstrated by everyone at the site in achieving this recognition is highly valued.”

The program is designed for workplaces that have an exemplary safety and health management system with injury and illness incidence rates below the industry average for the last three years.

“OxyChem Ludington has demonstrated a long-standing dedication to a company culture that promotes safety and health through management commitment and employee involvement,” said MIOSHA CET Division Director Tarah Kile. “It’s this dedication that not only reduces injuries and illnesses in the workplace but can also be a positive experience for all.”

OxyChem employees celebrated the honor in December at the Ludington plant. State and plant officials raised a MIOSHA STAR flag at the site to commemorate the award’s renewal.

OxyChem OxyChem is a wholly owned subsidiary of international energy company Occidental, based in Dallas with manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada and Chile. It is among the top three producers in the United States for the PVC, chlor-alkali, chlorinated organic, and other principal products it manufacturers and markets, and is a global leader in the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). OxyChem vinyl products are used for indispensable medical supplies, PVC pipe for delivering safe drinking water, and a variety of other long-lasting products essential to the automotive, electrical, and construction sectors.