The phrase "product stewardship" is often heard in ES&H circles these days, especially within the chemical industry where it is a key element of Responsible Care® and the Responsible Distribution ProcessSM. But what exactly is chemical product stewardship, and how can small chemical manufacturers and distributors get the word out?
Chemical product stewardship is a management practice many chemical companies follow to ensure that health, safety and environmental protection becomes a part of a chemical product’s life cycle. Product stewardship should be carried out in every stage when designing, manufacturing, marketing, distributing, using, recycling and disposing of chemical products. Working with customers and suppliers to insure the safe and environmentally sound use of chemical products is an effective strategy for reducing the risk and liability exposure faced by manufacturers.
And where can you find quality educational materials on the safe handling of chemicals? The Chemical Educational Foundation, a non-profit organization, located in Arlington, VA, provides various publications, videos, and programs on chemical product stewardship targeted toward school children, chemical companies and their customers, emergency responders, universities, and the general public. Many of the Foundation’s materials are free and can be downloaded from the Web site. The web site can provide you with:
- Product Stewardship Bulletins – Quarterly issues highlighting topics of interest to the chemical industry and the public. More than 1.2 million copies of the bulletins have been distributed to date. The Bulletins address many issues, including chemicals in your home, home chemical safety and emergency procedures, and EPA’s Risk Management Program (RMP).
- You Be the Chemist Kits – Two interactive, educational curriculums, one designed for K-3 and the other for 4-6 graders, teach students about chemistry and the safe handling of chemicals. Nearly 20,000 Kits have been distributed to schools with a total outreach estimated at nearly 1.5 million students, teachers and parents.
- Risk Communication – The new Risk Communication Guide can help chemical distributors, manufacturers, and their customers, especially small to medium companies, establish and sustain a risk communication program. The Guide explains the basics of risk management and the more complex issues of communicating with the public, the media, and fellow employees about how you are managing risk, preventing accidents, and preparing for emergencies. A section of the Guide is devoted to RMP Risk Communications. If your company is required to report under EPA’s Risk Management Program (RMP), this Guide can be a helpful resource.
- Regulations – The HAZMAT Training and Regulatory Awareness Program is a self-taught, general awareness training program on DOT, OSHA, and EPA federal regulations. The CEF Regulatory Update Service provides subscribers with current updates on EPA, OSHA, and DOT regulations affecting the chemical industry.
The Chemical Educational Foundation (CEF) began promoting chemical product stewardship activities when it was founded in 1992 by the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD). The Foundation was established to raise industry, customer, and community awareness about the safe handling of chemicals. The Foundation utilized the NACD chemical distributor members’ vast network of 750,000 customers and communities to communicate this important message and distribute educational materials. Six years later, the Foundation now reaches hundreds of thousands of businesses and several million individuals with the message of chemical product stewardship – a shared responsibility for everyone to safely handle chemicals.
The Foundation’s successful outreach is attributed to the dedication of many chemical distributor and manufacturer Foundation sponsors. Other supporters of CEF, including the National Association of Chemical Distributors, Chemical Manufacturers Association, the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association, and the National Paint & Coatings Association, have also helped the Foundation fulfill its mission.
Contact Information
For more information, call 703/527-6223, Chemical Educational Foundation, 1560 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1250, Arlington, VA 22209, Fax: 703/527-7747, or visit the Web at www.chemed.org to find more information about the Web Links.
