Fall 2001

Rohm and Haas’ Cincinnati facility is highly involved with the Reading community and other local municipalities. Here is a sampling of community activities and programs sponsored by the plant.

The facility’s Community Advisory Council (CAC) has met monthly since February 2001 to discuss topics such as odors, truck parking, toxic air emissions, worst-case chemical accident scenarios, the plant’s ongoing RCRA site investigation (see p. 2) and emergency response and preparedness. In October 2001, the group met with CAC members from Rohm and Haas’ Louisville plant to share experiences and lessons learned. In 2002, the CAC will begin educating the Reading community about Shelter In Place, a protective measure for citizens during serious hazardous material emergencies. The CAC is led by an independent facilitator. The public is welcome to attend CAC meetings. Please call Linda Stichtenoth if you are interested.

Soon after the facility’s Community Advisory Council (CAC) was established in January 2001, an independent “working group” was formed to address specific issues raised by Ohio Citizen Action, a local environmental group. These issues, which are also discussed by the CAC, include truck parking outside the plant before 7 a.m., odors, toxic air releases, and emergency response and preparedness. The working group, which includes neighbors and representatives from Ohio Citizen Action, meets monthly. The working group will soon become a sub-committee of the CAC in order to address issues on an ongoing basis.

In July 2001, Rohm and Haas established a plant update line and an odor complaint hotline for the community. The odor hotline is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week at (513) 733-2135. If you smell a noxious odor, please call this line. A plant operator will answer the phone, record your complaint and initiate an investigation into the source of the odor. To help plant employees locate the source of the odor, it is important to call the odor hotline as soon as the odor is noticed. Eric Walker, our environmental, health and safety (EHS) engineer, or a plant representative, will contact you about the investigation. The plant update line, (513) 733-2250 is a “listen only” line that is also accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It provides a recorded message about the plant, in the event of any spills, fires, injuries, unusual odors or loud noises.

Rohm and Haas participates in numerous educational partnerships with the Reading and Lockland communities. Some examples are highlighted below:

Junior Achievement: Facility employees are being trained to teach Junior Achievement at both Reading elementary schools.

Job Shadow Day: In February 2002, local students will be matched with an employee for a half day of job shadowing.

Head Start: The plant continues to sponsor the Lockland Head Start program for preschool children. Rohm and Haas donated costumes and toys to the program for Halloween and annually sponsors an Adopt-A-Child program and pizza party for Christmas.

Reading High Schools: In 2000, the plant initiated an ongoing, annual $1,000 scholarship to a high school graduate who plans to major in chemistry or chemical engineering.

Black History Month: In February 2002, the plant will host its second annual Black History Essay Contest. The contest is open to select schools in Reading and other areas for grades 1-6. The first place award is a $100 gift certificate to Borders Book Store.

Rohm and Haas raised $43,000 for Greater Cincinnati United Way in 2001, exceeding its annual goal by $10,000.

The Rohm and Haas facility is continuously working to improve its EHS programs. Here is an update on activities and personnel:

Rohm and Haas is continuing to sample plant soils and groundwater to determine if past industrial operations have contaminated plant property. Last spring, the facility took soil samples, installed groundwater monitoring wells, conducted a geophysical survey to look for buried drums, and examined the banks of Mill Creek for underground seeps. Since that time, the plant has taken additional soil samples, installed more wells, installed sorbent pads on the east bank of Mill Creek to check for the presence of a chemical formerly used at the site, and conducted aquifer tests to determine whether the upper and lower groundwater zones beneath the plant are connected.

In October 2001, the plant dug trenches in four areas, including the northwest corner of the main parking lot, to investigate suspect areas identified during the geophysical survey. To date, only stray metal has been found; no intact buried drums have been located. The RCRA site investigation report is due in June 2002 to the U.S. EPA, Region V. Results of all field activities will be reported at that time. RCRA stands for Resource, Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976.

Curt Lambert is the senior EHS engineer responsible for overseeing all programs within the EHS department. Originally from Memphis, Tenn., Lambert has worked at Rohm and Haas since April 2001. He has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Arkansas and North Carolina State respectively. Lambert previously worked as an environmental consultant and for a chlorine manufacturer. He lives in Hamilton with his wife and two daughters.

Rohm and Haas recently unveiled its new safety slogan, “SAFETY FIRST...or there won’t be a LATER,” to help promote safe behaviors among employees. The slogan was created by James Green, a 10-year Rohm and Haas employee. Green works in shipping and receiving and is responsible for loading and unloading chemicals from tanker trucks and railcars. Plant Manager Bruce Beiser presented Green, a war veteran, with an award, a World War II video set, and a $50 gift certificate for his efforts.

Rohm and Haas is continually training its employees in emergency response and preparedness. In April 2001, the facility’s Emergency

Response Team (ERT) received “hazmat technician” level training, which focused on how to handle chemical leaks from tanker trucks, drums and other equipment. In July 2001, 12 members of the ERT and three Reading firefighters received incident commander training. Incident commanders are in charge of hazardous material incidents and other emergency situations. In November 2001, all plant employees participated in training on company EHS policies.

In summer 2001, the facility established an EHS Site Council as a forum for employees to discuss EHS concerns and improve plant operations. The group meets monthly and is comprised of eight plant operators and Curt Lambert, the senior EHS engineer. The group is currently responsible for the facility’s behavior-based safety program (see below). Facility employee Robert Ahrens chairs the group.

In October 2001, the facility initiated a behavior safety sampling program to help improve site safety by identifying and then changing at-risk employee behaviors. The program works by using employees to observe and evaluate fellow employees conducting a certain task, such as unloading a tanker truck. Afterward, the employees will discuss any at-risk behaviors and ways to correct them. The observer may also submit recommendations to the EHS Site Council to make overall task changes to improve safety.

In November 2001, the EHS department hosted 15 graduate students in occupational health from the University of Cincinnati. Our senior occupational nurse, Josephine Ansems, directed the event. The purpose of the half-day event was to introduce students to occupational health and safety disciplines, including occupational nurse, occupational physician, industrial hygienist and safety engineer. 

In 2001, Rohm and Haas has experienced five employee injuries that were reportable to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the federal agency that regulates work place health and safety. The employees were placed on restricted work duty for a period of time. Over the past year, the company has not experienced any employee injuries that required an employee to miss a day of work.

In August 2001, a multi-media environmental audit of the Rohm and Haas facility was conducted by an outside contractor (known as a third party). One purpose of the audit was to obtain an in-depth understanding of facility operations by tracking raw materials, identifying byproducts, co-products and end products, and determining types of wastes generated and how they are managed. Another purpose was to obtain an independent assessment of environmental compliance for the site. Plant personnel hope to use the results of the audit to improve the site’s operational practices.

Rohm and Haas has initiated a number of pollution prevention projects over the past year. The highlights for 2001 include:

Planned installation of new chillers on the methyl chloride recovery system. The chillers will allow the plant to recover a significantly higher amount of methyl chloride (90-99% as opposed to 70- high 80s%) for resale. This will correspondingly reduce air emissions.

Elimination of ammonia odors during the tanker truck unloading process via a vapor recovery system.

Completed an odor source survey and began identifying odor sources and ways to reduce odors from Building 3/3A.

The facility is working with the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) to design a storm water retention system for the plant grounds.According to Becky Turner, our EHS industrial hygiene administrator, storm water can overwhelm MSD’s sanitary sewer system during heavy rain events (since most storm and sanitary sewer lines are combined) and cause sewage backups into Mill Creek. The plant is seeking design approval from the Ohio EPA and MSD by late 2002.

Since September 11, 2001, the facility has heightened security measures to prevent potential acts of terrorism. Access is restricted, mail is inspected, and all employees will soon be required to wear photo ID badges.

For more information, please contact:

Robin Cole, EHS Manager
(513) 733-2154 (phone);
(513) 733-2276 (fax)

Linda Stichtenoth, Community Relations Manager
(513) 733-2213 (phone);
(513) 733-2214 (fax)