Monitors instantly shut off valves if a leak is detected. If the meter malfunctions, the tank cars themselves have probes to monitor flows. Droze vouches for safety at the plant, which makes chemicals used as flame retardants in car seats, in drugs that treat osteoporosis, and in agricultural products to help crops grow uniformly. Rhodia's safety steps contributed to its injury and illness rate falling to 1.6 per 100 workers, much less than half the average for chemical companies and one-third the state average for all industries. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration honored the company this month for slashing injuries and illnesses by 40 percent.
Employers say they've placed more emphasis on safety over the years.
Still, systems aren't foolproof. The S.C. Department of Labor said 32 workers died on the job in 2000, down 6 percent from the year before. Eight of the fatalities were in the greater Charleston area, or 25 percent of all deaths. They included deaths from burns and a fall in two separate accidents at Nucor Steel in Cainhoy, an employee caught in equipment at Georgia Pacific in Russellville, two workers electrocuted under a house in Hollywood, and contractors who died in separate accidents at job sites in St. George and Mount Pleasant. Even with a company such as Rhodia, which has poured time and money into a management system to ensure workplace safety, things go awry.