One of BorsodChem’s most important objectives is the prevention of works accidents, occupational diseases, fire events and disasters as well as the planned reduction of exposures affecting employees and residents living in the surroundings, the prevention of crimes against the company and the protection of assets.
The tasks are organised and coordinated by Health and Safety Management at corporate level through the following organisational units:
Work Safety and Fire Protection is responsible for the performance of organisational, educational and expertise tasks related to labour protection including the preparation of periodic safety inspections and risk assessments as well as selecting individual and collective protective equipments and elaborating the company’s regulation system of labour / fire protection and preventive fire protection. The on-site fire department operates within the frames of the organisation.
Chemical Accident Prevention is responsible for the smooth fulfilment of tasks related to disaster control, civil protection, radioprotection, chemical safety and REACH as well as the full-scale observance of legal and legislative obligations. In the interest thereof, it prepares and continuously updates BC Safety Report, the acceptance thereof by the authorities is the condition of BC’s disaster control operation permit as well as it performs the tasks required for triple-level licensing for new investments and capacity expansions. In the field of chemical safety and in terms of the provisions of the REACH regulation in relation therewith it complies with BC’s pre-registration and registration obligations with respect to produced and imported chemicals providing information upwards and downwards in the supply chain as per laws, updating safety data sheets, performing the hazard classification of substances and products and registration towards the authorities. It prepares the chemical safety report and exposition scenarios of chemicals as well as cooperates in the work of trade organisations (ISOPA, III, ECVM, EuroChlor).
Technical Supervision is in charge of supervising and authority licensing of hazardous chemical equipment, and preparing system safety inspections.
Technical Diagnostics is in charge of controlling the Company’s equipment by destructive and non-destructive test methods, as well as performing X-ray and vibration tests.
Security and Hygiene is in charge of the organisational and controlling activity related to property protection, the development and enforcement of traffic order, and the operation of reception services and the entrance system. This organisation operates the changing-rooms, bathrooms and office buildings.
BorsodChem lays great emphasis on the fulfilment of requirements that basically determine the company’s safety status (safety conscious behaviour and activities of employees, proper technical and safety standard of production, accessory equipment and systems, etc.).
In 2007 nearly HUF 1300 million was utilised for safety investment, renewal, maintenance and operational tasks.
The working conditions fully comply with legal requirements.
The concentration of hazardous substances in the work spaces was under the permitted limit value.
Authority licences necessary for commissioning the new facilities were acquired in time.
Responsible care is aimed at protecting the health and safety of employees, areas adjacent to the site and customers. The conscious assumption of responsibility forms the basis for trust with employees, the local population and partner companies. This trust is needed so that our employees, partners and the residents of surrounding communities could recognise our positive achievements. BorsodChem cooperates with local residents and the authorities in a constructive spirit. To maintain good relations, the Company organises plant visits and consultation sessions, which show that safety, work morale, the role of management and the attitude of people are all important factors at our Company. BorsodChem accepts responsibility for all of its activities without regard to whether these concern our products, our employees, our environment or the population of neighbouring settlements. The Group provides regularly reviewed safety data sheets offering sufficient information on its distributed chemicals to all users.
Our professionals perform regular analyses in order to reveal, decrease and eliminate work-related safety risks. We eliminate accident sources, shortcomings causing fire or intoxication hazard mainly through technical safety actions. We ensure that sufficient and material sources are available for this purpose and we support any related developments.
We provide our employees with safety knowledge not only at the time of commencing employment, but we hold regular trainings from time to time and we assess their knowledge of safety issues. We regularly practice procedures to follow in terms of eliminating breakdowns and emergency situations as per schedule. We focus on prevention in the field of health protection. In the frame of our health protection program we have regular medical check-ups with a frequency subject to job specific risks, therefore the development of any health impairments and occupational diseases including any potential abnormalities can be prevented by early discovery. In 2007 and Q1-3 2008 there were no cases involving sickness caused by chemical substances, or poisoning at any companies belonging to BorsodChem.
Only subcontractors are allowed to perform work on the Company’s site that we qualify have sufficient professional and safety preparedness including the health status of their employees. We train the employees of subcontractors to prevent any hazards of BorsodChem. We provide admittance only to employees in proper health condition. The observance of safety regulations is strictly monitored.
BorsodChem regularly trains all persons participating in the transportation of hazardous substances including the drivers of forwarding companies. BorsodChem pays accelerated attention to all phases of transporting hazardous goods, safe loading and unloading, charging and discharging, handling of goods, proper documentation and labelling. The necessary personnel and material conditions are readily available to prevent any emergencies occurring in the course of transport.
The above activities are monitored by hazardous substance transport advisors in line with ADR and RID regulations. BorsodChem is a founding member of the Chemical Alarm Information Center established by the Hungarian Chemical Association, which was set up for the rapid elimination of consequences resulting from transport accidents.
The on-site fire department of BorsodChem consists of 40 full-time and 120 voluntary fire-fighters. The fire department has eight high-performance fire-engines and two ambulance cars.
The standby headcount of the fire department complies with the regulations. As in previous years, we further expanded and modernised the equipment of fire departments in 2007 as well.
As a result of measures to prevent and reduce risks, the number of built-in and mobile protective equipment (fire alarms, remote-controlled water cannons, automatic extinguishing systems, special labour protection devices etc.) also increased. Currently we have equipment with performance in proportion to the Company’s fire risks.
The apparatus used in the chemical processes at the Kazincbarcika site contain various toxic substances, therefore the containment of the equipment and systems is crucial. In case of the connection of equipment, pipes and fittings the material of sealants ensuring compactness contained asbestos in previous years, but this substance has been banned from all workplaces under international regulations due to its carcinogenic properties. The application of new sealants requires greater care and discipline in terms of installation and the seals also need enhanced control. The helium-based seal examination device brought in usage in 2006 is remarkably sensitive. In case of 1 mbar pressure difference it is able to detect the outflow of 0.00000001 milliliters of helium per second as well. Therefore it is especially suitable to check the seals on the heat exchanging pipes and thereby the prevention of breakdowns and accidents both on the occasion of equipment manufacturing as well as periodic safety inspections. The Group applies the Best Available Techniques (BAT) in designing and manufacturing equipment and systems. In 2007 we commissioned an eddy-current wall thickness measuring unit, by which the change in the wall thickness of pipes is detectable on the total surface. It is a primary aspect to consider both professional reliability and quality work when selecting designers and manufacturers, which form the basis of systems safety. Besides statutory requirements governing quality control procedures, BorsodChem specialists also monitor and strictly supervise the manufacturing and installation of equipment to be installed. Our specialists subject the already operating technology equipment to periodical safety inspections. As part of the inspections, diagnostics procedures are also applied, for which modern instruments are available.
It is a core task to protect the health and physical condition of employees.
The Company applies state-of-the-art computer controlled closed technologies and equipment. The operation thereof has reduced the risk of occupational diseases to the minimum. Where working conditions necessitate, advanced personal protective equipment are available for our employees, which provide appropriate protection both in the course of performing work and in case of danger as well. We regularly organise labour protection, safety and health trainings for our employees.
In order to prevent health impairments, our employees continuously take part at medical examinations along with biological monitoring. The examinations are performed in the surgeries on the Company site.
Health care begins on the date of employment. In the preventive stage, people obtaining employment by BorsodChem are examined by a general health test prior to commencing work. In the care stage, we regularly examine our employees depending on their position, age and health condition.
The Company carries out special medical examinations (cytogenetics) on a regular basis in order to recognise the exposure effects of chemicals affecting employees in due time.
The Company makes constant efforts to improve the conditions necessary for workplace safety. The continuous improvement of our accident statistics attests to the success of our efforts. The number of accidents per 1 million working hours has been lower for years at our Company than in case of Europe’s leading chemical companies.
No occupational diseases have developed throughout the year.
No fire involving material damage or other events occurred in the past three years.