ADVOCACY CENTER

Worker Health and Safety

Every day nearly one million workers, including engineers, technicians and machinists, head to plastics facilities around the world to produce products that play major roles in our modern life, from helping to preserve food to providing for medical devices that save lives. These highly skilled workers, who serve one of the U.S.’s largest manufacturing sectors, must keep safety top of mind.

What Role Does the Plastics Industry Association Have in Addressing Worker Health and Safety? 

PLASTICS has a Worker Health and Safety Task Group of the EHS+ Committee in which all members are invited to participate. Meetings are held twice per year, with interim conference calls as needed. 

Keeping Members Informed

The EHS+ Committee’s Worker Health and Safety Task Group addresses topics including: 

  • Combustible dust 
  • Compliance assistance 
  • Control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout; LOTO) 
  • Electrical safety 
  • Emphasis programs – national (NEPs), local and regional 
  • Enforcement 
  • Fall protection 
  • Hazard communication 
  • Health and safety programs 
  • Leading indicators of safety 
  • Machine guarding  
  • Process safety management (PSM) 
  • Recordkeeping 
  • Workplace injuries and illnesses – prevention, statistics
Monitoring and Responding to Regulatory Issues

Most plastics industry facilities are in states regulated by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); others are under OSHA-approved State Plans administered by agencies in those states. PLASTICS monitors and responds to their initiatives, engaging with regulatory agencies and participating in the rulemaking process to meet the needs of our members. 

Plastics industry employees worldwide are also impacted by countries’ adoption of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) and its revisions.

Weighing in on Standards

PLASTICS engages with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) on standards addressing combustible dust and particulate solids. 

Developing and Sharing Resources

From members-only communications to webinars open to the industry, PLASTICS provides resources to assist with understanding regulations and facilitate sharing of company programs and practices with the invaluable experience and expertise of workers in the industry. 

PLASTICS members can subscribe to the EHS+ Committee’s biweekly newsletter to stay abreast of these topics.

EHS+ Committee Resources

The EHS+ Committee also has Task Groups for Environmental and Product Regulatory issues.

For more information, please contact: ehs@plasticsindustry.org