Salt companies, likewise, had their safest-ever year in 2007 and sold a near-record amount of live-saving highway salt.

Results are in for the 2008 Metal/Nonmetal and International Mine Rescue Contest. Congratulations to Cargill Deicing Technology's Whiskey Island team from the Cleveland, OH mine for its salt industry-leading overall 6th place award. Joe Desko is the team leader.

The program is sponsored by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. Ten teams from eight countries participated. Host Team U.S.A. finished fourth.

Salt mine rescue teams were well represented among the leaders in the several individual skills competitions.

In the multi-gas instrument benchman contest, Ryan Weese of Cargill's Whiskey Island team took 2nd, Steve Allanson on Cargill's second Cleveland team, Cuyahoga River, finished 4th and Don Maxfield from Morton Salt's Grand Saline, TX "Team Texas" earned 6th place.

Cody Rossbach, Cargill Deicing Technology's Cayuga mine (Lansing, NY), garnered third place in the BG-4 Benchman competition.

And Cargill's Avery Island, LA mine "Rescue Runners" first aid team of Ward Broussard, Marty Menard and Lynn Bayard placed 5th in their competition.

See our earlier post for salt inductees into the Mine Rescue Hall of Fame.

In related news, MSHA announced seven inductees into the Mine Rescue All of Fame including three from salt companies, Rod Etie and Rayward Segura of Cargill's Avery Island, LA mine, and Lee Graham who retired from then-SI member Carey Salt in 1988. Segura was a participant in the inaugural competition in 1971 when the contest was conducted in Lafayette, LA. Congratulations.

Congratulations to all for the following safety milestones:

Morton Salt, Weeks Island, LA mine, 4 million hours
Morton Salt, Manistee, MI evap plant, 1 million hours
Canadian Salt, Pugwash, NS mine, 500,000 hours
Cargill Salt, Cleveland OH mine, 400,000 hours

Overall, for January - March 2008, the salt industry reduced lost-time injuries by 20% (with the additional work-hours, the incidence rate declined 27.15%. The severity index, measuring days lost, improved even more, recording a 72% improvement.

The Salt Institute safety program supports member company safety efforts in 51 salt plants in the U.S., Canada and the UK. Of those 51, 48 completed the three month period -- nearly 3 million work-hours -- without a single lost-time accident. "We are working towards zero injuries and having only 21 reportable injuries and only four of those serious enough to result in lost time, is a fantastic step forward. That progress is the result of safety-prioritizing management and a safety-aware workforce working closely together.

Morton Salt, Silver Springs, NY evap plant, 1.9 million hours
Morton Salt, Manistee, MI evap plant, 900,000 hours
Compass Minerals, Lyons, KS evap plant, 700,000 hours
The Canadian Salt Co., Ltd., Pugwash, NS mine, 400,000 hours and 12 months
Compass Minerals, Goderich, ON evap plant, 200,000 hours

Morton Salt, Port Canaveral, FL solar facility, 1.6 million hours
Canadian Salt, Lindbergh Works evap plant, Elk Point, AB, 1 million hours
Compass Minerals, Chicago, IL processing facility, 400,000 hours
Canadian Salt, Goderich warehouse, ON, 20 years

The total recordable case injury and illness incidence rate among private-industry employers in 2006 was the lowest since the survey was first conducted in 1972.

Individual facilities with the best 3-quarters incidence record include

Morton Salt, Manistee, MI, Large Processing Category
Cargill Salt, Cayuga mine, Lansing, NY, Mining Category
United Salt, Carlsbad, NM, Small Processing Category
Morton Salt, Terminals/Warehouses

Best safety records from a severity perspective were achieved by

Morton Salt, Rittman, OH, Large Processing Category
Canadian Salt, Ojibway, ON, Mining Category
Cargill Salt, Watkins Glen, NY, Small Processing Category
Cargill Salt, Terminals/Warehouses

When it comes to safety, we're all winners when each and every worker returns home each night safely.

The Salt Institute has been on Capitol Hill with other mining interests suggesting a "go slow" approach of determining how effective last year's "fix" is before adding further controls including larger penalties against mine operators and giving MSHA subpoena authority. Minority Republicans warned the "improvements" could be counterproductive.

Frightening.

Looking beneath the headlines, however, there are some more sanguine conclusions: three-quarters of the 1,600 survey respondents told the pollster that they felt personally empowered and could take action that would materially reduce their own risks. And there was appreciation of corporate employers' safety efforts.

Respondents expressed confidence in their employers’ ability to deal with emergency situations in the workplace. Sixty-one percent of respondents believe their employer is prepared to deal with emergency situations, compared with their family, at 57 percent, and their community, at 50 percent.

We need to keep in mind that our workers are part of this pessimistic public and provide regular reminders that the glass is half full. Progress has been made. Overall, on the job fatalities have fallen 17% in the past 15 years (and I'll bet our salt industry record is even better). Workers not only have a responsibilty to work safely, they have both the tools and the support of their management and, together, can make a contribution to safe working outcomes.

Congratulations, as well, to the entire workforces at all these facilities for their success in reaching notable safety milestones:

Morton Salt, Rittman, OH mine - 7 million hours without a lost time injury (all-time historic record!)
Cargill Salt, Port Cargill, Savage, MN terminal - 500,000 hours
Cargill Salt, Cayuga Mine, Lansing, NY - 300,000 hours
Cargill Salt, Timpie, UT solar - 200,000 hours & one year
United Salt, Hockley, TX mine - 100,000 hours

Cargill Salt, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles solar - two years without a lost time injury
Cargill Salt, Cincinnati, OH terminal - two years
Cargill Salt, Newark, CA processing plant - one year

Cargill Salt, Newark, CA processing facility, 300,000 hours
Canadian Salt, Pugwash, NS mine, 200,000 hours
Cargill Salt, Cleveland, OH mine, 100,000 hours

Cargill Salt, Avery Island, LA mine, 200,000 hours
Cargill Salt, Bonaire, NA solar, 200,000 hours
Cargill Salt, Lansing, NY mine, 200,000 hours
Cargill Salt, Breaux Bridge, LA evap plant, 100,000 hours
Cargill Salt, Port Cargill, MN processing plant, 9 years
Cargill Salt, Akron, OH evap plan, 7 years
Cargill Salt, Port Newark, NJ packaging plant, 1 year
Cargill Salt, Watkins Glen, NY evap plant, 1 year