Chemical incident response solutions highlighted

Improving community responsibility

Corporate RC was an issue of particular interest at a workshop to evaluate RC results hosted by the Vietnam Responsible Care Council (VRCC) under the Vietnam Chemical Society in Vung Tau Province.

According to VRCC Chairman Do Duy Phi, RC implementation aims at protecting the environment, the health of workers and communities, while preventing chemical risks. Joining RC activities benefits businesses a lot including reducing the costs of insurance and handling environmental pollution and increasing corporate reputations.

The VRCC has been recognized as an official member of the Asia Pacific Responsible Care Organization (APRO), which will certainly benefit domestic communities, the chemical sector and the environment, said VRCC permanent member Chu Van Nguyen.

Positive corporate response

The Lam Thao Fertilizers and Chemicals JSC (LAFCHEMCO), one of 29 VRCC founders in December 2012, has begun establishing its RC council. The company always adhere to quality management system ISO 9001:2008, has established the VILAS 134 laboratory which is up to national standards and capable of analyzing the quality norms of materials, products and the environment, and manage to keep sanitary workplaces and prevent chemical incidents. The company was chosen as the venue for a large scale toxic chemical emergency response drill in August 2012 and gained a lot of experience in handling and response to chemical incidents, said LAFCHEMCO General Director Pham Quang Tuyen.

According to Deputy General Director of the PetroVietnam Fertilizer and Chemicals Company (PVFCCo) Hoang Viet Dung, the company always highlights strict safety regulations at workplaces. Last year, it recorded neither casualties nor environmental violations, and provided timely response to and rapid recovery from chemical incidents. Every year, it drills its staff in chemical incident prevention and response exercises.

Nguyen Duyen