Salt Worker Safety

Our second quarter Safety Recognition Awards program results were released earlier this week. Due to several severe injury accidents, the overall record for the first six months of 2006 was problematic. The severity rate more than doubled, jumping from 7.25 in 2005 to 15.59 this year.

Company standing through six months include the following:
Incidence
Compass Minerals (large company)
Lyons Salt (small company)
Severity
Compass Minerals (large company)
United Salt (small company)

Facility leaders include:

Mining
Incidence: Cargill, Cleveland mine
Severity: Canadian Salt, Ojibway mine

Large processing
Incidence: Morton, Hutchinson, KS
Severity: Morton, Rittman, OH

Small processing
Incidence: Compass Minerals, Ogden, UT
Severity: Cargill, Akron, OH

Terminals & warehouses
Incidence: Morton Salt
Severity: Cargill Salt

Posted by Dick Hanneman at 02:25 PM | Permalink

Cargill's industrial salt business has implemented a new policy regarding the use of gloves. The policy essentially states that proper gloves will be required everywhere hardhats and safety glasses are currently required. Hands are involved in a high percentage of injuries and this policy aims at reducing exposure as well as potential injury severity. We continue to work to identify and mitigate these types of exposures. Our team remains committed to developing a culture capable of driving injuries out of our business.

Posted by Dick Hanneman at 11:35 AM | Permalink

Omitted through ignorance from the previous post was the outstanding performance of a second Salt Institute member mine rescue team, that from Morton Salt's Grand Saline, TX mine, which finished just "out of the money" in fourth place in the national competition. Congratulations to this perennial powerhouse team.

Posted by Dick Hanneman at 11:26 AM | Permalink