[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 30 (Thursday, March 8, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E315]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING ROHM AND HAAS TEXAS, INCORPORATED

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN BENTSEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 8, 2001

  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Rohm and Haas Texas, 
Incorporated for its participation in the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act (OSHA) Star Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). Rohm and 
Haas employees and management should be commended for maintaining 
excellent safety and health programs in their workplace that is 
recognized by OSHA as a model for the industry. The fact that Rohm and 
Haas has achieved Star Program status demonstrates that the company is 
capable and willing to meet all VPP requirements of excellence in 
safety.
  Rohm and Haas Texas Incorporated has been a responsible member of the 
Deer Park community for 50 years, safely manufacturing chemicals for 
use in the disposable diaper, automobile, paint, coatings and 
communication industries. Construction on the Deer Park Plant began in 
1947 and in July of the following year, the first shipment of acetone 
cyanohydrin was made to another Rohm and Haas plant in Pennsylvania to 
produce acrylic sheet.
  The Deer Park Plant would become the company's largest and most 
productive with five major expansions in the fifties, followed by four 
in the sixties, two in the seventies, two in the eighties and six in 
the nineties. Employment has climbed from 132 in 1948 to more than 850 
today, making the plant one of the largest industrial employers in the 
area. When wages, purchases and taxes are considered, the plant and 
employees are responsible for adding more than $85 million each year to 
the local economy which, in turn, creates an estimated 4,500 jobs for 
others in the community.
  Rohm and Haas' Deer Park plant has demonstrated a proven commitment 
to improving worker safety and health. By joining the VPP Association, 
Rohm and Haas' Deer Park plant has taken a leadership role in achieving 
safety, health, and environmental excellence through cooperation among 
communities, workers, industries, and governments in the United States.
  Employees at Rohm and Haas are enjoying the benefits of a safer 
worksite through VPP. Since the VPP's inception in 1983, participation 
in the program has grown from three to more than 500 sites. By 
participating in this program, Rohm and Haas has chosen to improve 
safety at its worksite and to reduce injury and illness rates. Rohm and 
Haas employees are true partners in these improvement efforts and take 
on critical roles in helping their workplaces to achieve safety 
excellence. The total workforce of Rohm and Haas should be proud of the 
recognition by the industry and community that comes with being an OSHA 
Star worksite.
  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Rohm and Haas Texas, Incorporated for 
recognizing that compliance enforcement alone can never fully achieve 
the objectives of OSHA.

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