The stewardship of the health, safety and environmental issues have always been the core values of chemical manufacturers in Texas - their record of achievement in these areas is exemplary.

Workers are much more likely to be injured in accidents away from work than on the job. Within the Texas chemical industry, accident records kept by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that injury and illness rates are one-third that of the overall manufacturing sector, and half that of all private businesses in Texas.

Improving the environmental aspects of operating chemical plants has been strongly emphasized for decades. The most visible results are the substantial reductions of emissions of reportable chemicals to the air and water. Between 1988 and 2001, reportable air emissions from all Texas industrial facilities have been reduced by 66%. The chemical indsutry alone is responsible for achieving 63% of all reductions statewide. As a result, Texas air generally contains lower amounts of air toxics than found in most other states.

Perhaps the most vexing air quality problem facing Texas today is ozone. The Dallas/Ft. Worth and Houston regions must make significant reductions in ozone levels in order to comply with EPA standards. Again, the industry in Texas has led the way in reducing the two precursors of ozone-nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds. Beginning in the mid-1990s, the industry has supported state efforts to reduce NOx emissions from factories, especially in the Houston area. As a result, NOx emissions in the greater Houston area will be reduced by 80% before June 2007. Other regions in Texas will also be making substantial NOx reduction, contributing to major improvements in air quality.

According to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, our state has 190 bodies of fresh water (lakes, reservoirs, river and stream segments) that have been determined to be "impaired" or contain higher levels of pollutants than deemed acceptable from a health standpoint for drinking, swimming or fishing.

Not one of these water bodies is imparied because of a toxic discharge from a major chemical manufacturing facility. Stringent state permitting requirements and the dedication of plant operators have made industrial water pollution largely a concern of the past.