Staff at Ineos Chlor were congratulated about their health and safety standards during a ministerial visit to the Runcorn site. Reporter CLAIRE LANE speaks to Lord Hunt about his findings
LORD Hunt has praised the company Ineos ChlorVinyl for looking after its workforce and setting 'impressive' safety standards that can be rolled out across the country.
During Wednesday's visit to the Run-corn chemical plant at South Parade, the parliamentary under-secretary said the firm has a good safety record and can act as a blue-print for other leading companies.
And Lord Hunt, who is responsible for the health and safety commission and the work of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), is currently embarking on an extensive tour of industrial sites throughout the UK.
The aim is to 'learn' how the Government can reduce the national number of industrial accidents which claim the lives of 240 people every year.
The number of serious injuries and illnesses sustained in the workplace poses even greater cause for concern, and climbs to a higher figure of 30,000.
The minister, however, claims to be impressed with the responsible way Ineos treats its workforce and wants other companies to follow its lead by using safety as a priority - while not compromising on profitability.
'I'm responsible for health and safety and the work of the HSE and over the last few months, I have carried out a number of visits where I have met health and safety inspectors with the purpose of looking at the kind of work they do,' said Lord Hunt.
'If you look at what's happened to health and safety in 30 years there have been improvements, and fatalities have reduced by 70%.
'The last figures show that there are still 240 people who get killed each year and 30,000 get serious injuries and illnesses as a result of being at work.
'It's important that we are not complacent as 240 deaths is 240 too many as far as I'm concerned.'
As part of his tour, Lord Hunt has been encouraging companies which have a successful health and safety record to continue their good work.
He singled out Ineos ChlorVinyl's 'strong commitment' to improving health and safety as an example of good practice in the workplace.
The firm Ineos ChlorVinyl is recognised as a major chemical producer in the UK - and a global leader in chloride derivatives.
It is the view of the HSE that Ineos ChlorVinyl is a 'reasonably good performer,' which has invested and upgraded safety at the site since Ineos acquired it from ICI in 2001.
The importance of safety at the plant is paramount as Ineos ChlorVinyl is one of the largest producers of chlorine and caustic soda and employs around 1,800 employees within its European empire.
Due to the nature of the chemicals dealt with at the plant, there is always a risk that there will be a major incident involving the release of chemicals, a fire or explosion.
The effects of such an accident would have a devastating impact on people working on site, or on anyone living or working nearby.
Although Ineos is operating its safety procedures well, extensive renewal work has taken place since from ICI.
Lord Hunt said: 'Ineos has made a number of improvements over the years and so we can learn from what they've achieved.
'It seems to me that senior managers here are very committed to having effective health and safety measures in place and they are committed to making radical improvements.
'The health and safety executive has set targets for 2010, during which time we hope to make big improvements.
'If I was going to pinpoint the success of Ineos, I'd say that it is quite clear that one of the occupational objectives of the company is the importance of health and safety.
'The second is that the people here take a great deal of pride in the fact that they have improved their safety record considerably and are really committed.
'They manage to improve health and safety as well as making large profits.
'I am convinced that the best companies are profitable and concerned about the welfare of people.
'Fortunately there are checks on companies that don't perform well, as the HSE can issue improvement notices and they can be brought before the courts.'
As part of its health and safety procedure, Ineos ChlorVinyls is replacing its technology with new membrane cells as part of a £390m modernisation programme.
The membrane cells not only remove the need for mercury but are also more energy efficient.
Lord Hunt insists the environment is a vital factor which is being taken into consideration during health and safety inspections across the country.
'The HSE works closely with environmental agencies when we're looking at a site as a whole.
'The environment and energy efficiency needs to be as much a concern to companies as health and safety,' he said.
