The Occupational Health and Environmental Issues Committee of the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc.

OHEIC Brochure - PDF Version

Since 1985, the Occupational Health and Environmental Issues Committee (OHEIC) of The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI) has provided value to members and the greater plastics industry by addressing critical issues on matters concerning the environment and worker health and safety.

OHEIC acts to reduce occupational illnesses and injuries while saving the industry money, reducing its compliance costs, enhancing its ability to get new products to market, and protecting existing markets.

Who we are…

We are company representatives from all segments of the plastics industry. We are materials suppliers, processors, moldmakers, machinery companies, and individual professionals working cooperatively on issues with SPI's business units. We come together as a member-driven committee in which everyone has an equal voice and everyone is heard. We are committed to ensuring a fair and consistent legislative and regulatory environment for the U.S. plastics industry.

We are organized under SPI, the only trade association whose members represent all segments of the plastics industry. With a full complement of technical, legislative, and regulatory and public policy staff, SPI is the recognized "voice" of the plastics industry.

Working together...

We are the team of professionals with the experience, knowledge, commitment and contacts to get the job done. We encourage participation of new members from all segments of the plastics industry who can bring their unique skills and insights to our efforts.

What we believe in…

Our vision is to be recognized as the leader in promoting world-class environmental, health, and safety performance in the plastics industry while providing outstanding industry representation and services to members.

Our mission is to provide the leadership, guidance, and support that will bring about continuous improvement in environmental, health, and safety performance in the plastics industry while promoting and serving member interests.

What we do…

OHEIC works to promote and protect the interests of the plastics industry in occupational health, safety and environmental matters of industry-wide significance at the international, federal, state and local levels. To accomplish this, the Committee:

• Monitors and informs members about international, national, state and regional regulatory and legislative activities on environmental/workplace safety and health issues that affect segments or all of the plastics industry.
• Provides leadership and represents the industry in matters before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other regulatory agencies, and provides comments on proposed rules and regulations.
• Reviews applicable environmental and occupational health and safety issues for the purpose of promoting laws and regulations that will continue to protect our workers and our environment.
• Assesses the potential impact of health, safety and environmental issues, and prioritizes these issues for effective allocation of resources.
• Apprises SPI leadership of issues of concern and provides technical guidance in their resolution.
• Collects and disseminates statistics and other information, publishes bulletins and issue alerts, conducts surveys, and undertakes research projects which benefit SPI members.
• Provides liaison and support to SPI business units and other trade association groups.

OHEIC consistently provides value to the industry
while adapting to its members' needs.
As needs change, OHEIC changes to meet them.

How we do it…

OHEIC meets four times annually to assess and address matters that come before it. At these meetings, Committee members receive updates and overviews on industry issues regarding regulatory compliance, the environment and worker health and safety, as well as exchange information and learn from one another. OHEIC members use their combined expertise and different perspectives to evaluate the issues that impact the industry and address them creatively and effectively.

The Committee has three standing Task Groups, which hold meetings and conduct other activities as necessary to carry out their work.

• The Worker Health and Safety Task Group provides critical information and tools for companies to continuously improve their safety performance and provides input and direction on legislative and regulatory proposals.
• The Environmental Issues Task Group supports OHEIC in the management of environmental matters which may impact the industry. This group covers a broad scope of environmental matters, including air and water quality, toxic substances and hazardous waste management, emergency planning/community right to know and topics such as regulatory reinvention and EPA Information Office activities.
• The Product Regulatory Task Group works to protect plastics industry interests by supplying information on domestic and international activities that affect product viability and providing leadership in response to challenges.

OHEIC works through its Task Groups, and with SPI business units, other trade associations, and government agencies as appropriate, to address emerging environmental, health and safety, and product regulatory issues that reflect member needs.

Why we're successful…

OHEIC is unique. It provides a vehicle in which the entire industry can have a voice in environmental, health and safety, and product regulatory issues. Because OHEIC's membership includes representatives from different industry segments and companies of different sizes, the committee considers each issue from a wide range of perspectives. Common goals, combined with unique backgrounds and areas of expertise, result in creative approaches to challenges. This diversity is a powerful tool when dealing with governmental agencies and promoting health, safety and environmental stewardship.

OHEIC and SPI have established tremendous credibility with regulators and have a reputation for effective action on industry problems. Further, OHEIC members enjoy cost savings as a result of jointly funding projects of common interest. OHEIC also creates a forum in which members of larger companies can help smaller ones meet regulatory needs and challenges, creating a better business climate for all.

OHEIC members make a positive impact on their own companies in solving problems for the plastics industry.

How to Join OHEIC…

We invite you to join OHEIC to help guide the EH&S and product regulatory voice of the industry, consult and network with representatives of all sectors of the plastics industry, all while improving your company's EH&S performance and providing the satisfaction of knowing you are playing a positive role in your industry's future.

Membership in OHEIC is open to members of SPI and to representatives of operating units within SPI. For more information on OHEIC or membership in SPI, call (202) 974-5200. Visit us online at www.plasticsindustry.org/public/oheic/oheic.htm.

Founded in 1937, The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., is the trade association representing one of the largest manufacturing industries in the United States. SPI's members represent the entire plastics industry supply chain, including processors, machinery and equipment manufacturers and raw materials suppliers. The U.S. plastics industry employs more than 1.4 million workers and provides more than $310 billion in annual shipments. For more information on SPI, please visit our web site at www.plasticsindustry.org.

Selected Activities and Accomplishments of SPI and OHEIC

• SPI and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) renewed their Alliance (www.plasticsindustry.org/public/worksafe/alliance.htm) to promote safe and healthy work environments in plastics facilities; activities include developing outreach and communications tools to address machine safety and reduce exposure to ergonomic hazards. A machine guarding eTool and machine safety training courses for injection molding, extrusion and thermoforming are available online.



• OHEIC sponsored workshops at NPE 2003 on environmental regulations, energy best practices, ergonomics, and working with the OSHA, as well as an SPI/OSHA Alliance training course on machine safety for injection molding machinery.



• The SPI/OSHA Alliance created an OSHA Assistance for the Plastics Industry web page (www.osha.gov/SLTC/plastics), which provides industry-specific information and tools to help employers and workers establish safer, healthier workplaces.



• OHEIC's comments to OSHA on proposed changes to the Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses regulation successfully challenged the recording of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and clarified the recording criteria for cases involving occupational hearing loss.



• OHEIC wrote the Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Policy Statement for SPI, encouraging member companies to promote the safety and health of their employees, protect the environment, and foster the creation of products that can be made and used in a safe and responsible manner.



• OHEIC developed SPI position statements on product stewardship; environmental labeling and market claims; global climate change; EH&S management plans; chemical plant security; environmentally preferable purchasing; the protection of trade secret information and sustainable development.



• EH&S and product regulatory topics that may affect members' operations, training resources and upcoming events are reported through advisories, alerts, and OHEIC News.



• OHEIC protected plastics industry viability (or future competitiveness) by preparing a joint industry position statement with the Canadian Plastics Industry Association addressing the information to be provided in support of the End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Directive, and continues to work on ELV issues.



• Through OHEIC, industry members developed critical information on air emissions from extrusion processing of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polyethylene, ethylene vinyl acetate, ethylene methyl acrylate, polypropylene, polyamide, polystyrene, and polycarbonate.



• OHEIC's Guidance Document for Preparing Material Safety Data Sheets helps readers determine potential hazards, as well as prepare MSDSs and labels for plastics or plastic products under the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard.



• Through an annual Occupational Health and Safety Survey, SPI collects and evaluates statistical data of occupational illnesses and injuries in the plastics industry, provides benchmarking data for participants and recognizes member work sites with excellent safety records.



• Through its excellent reputation and relationships with regulatory bodies, OHEIC succeeded in placing polymers in a holding category under EPA's proposed testing scheme of TSCA and FIFRA chemicals for endocrine disruption screening.

SPI OHEIC: Common goals, uncommon results

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