1. DuPont, Where Safety is a
Condition of Employment
Norman W. Henry III, MS, CIH
Safety and Health By Protection (SHBP)
DuPont (Retired)
shbp65@comcast.net

2. DuPont’s Commitment to Safety (1800’s)
ν Over 200 years ago 1802 DuPont founded
ν Gunpowder production on Brandywine River in Wilmington, DE
ν Work safely with explosives or loss of job, life and business
ν Became tradition and commitment
ν All employees held accountable
ν Many safety records, achievements and awards
ν SAFETY FIRST
ν Safety = freedom from risk, harm, injury, disease and loss of
life
ν Trust in employer and in employees to obey

3. Gunpowder

4. Safety Booklet 1915 (1900’s)
ν Given to DuPont employees at Explosives installations in New
Jersey
ν Titled “Safety Health Efficiency”
ν Safety imperative
ν Health essential to happiness
ν Efficiency quality most valuable in employee
ν Welfare and success in life attainable by safety
ν Director of Explosive Department, Harry Haskell established
Medical Division that included program for employee health
Surveillance
ν 1920’s and early 1930’s
ν TEL – lead poisoning
ν Cyanosis
ν Dyes – increasing number of bladder tumors

5. Booklet

6. DuPont Medical Director, Dr. George Gehrman
“We can see now that much suffering can be
avoided if sufficient knowledge of the toxicity of
chemical compounds is developed before the
process of manufacture is started and before our
workman have a chance to become poisoned.”

7. Establishment of Lab
ν Recommendation made to establish
medical research laboratory, 1934
ν January 22, 1935 Building 249
Experimental Station, Wilmington, DE
dedicated as medical research lab
ν First laboratory of it’s kind in the US
ν $150,000; 10,000 square feet, 9
employees
ν “It’s a new idea in American industry”
local newspaper

8. Lamont DuPont’s Quote at Dedication

9. Today Haskell Laboratory celebrating 70 years
of scientific excellence
ν Moved from Experimental Station in 1954 to
present location, Stine-Haskell Research Center
in Newark, DE
ν Dedicated March 29, 1954 - $2 MM Lab
ν Name changed to Haskell Laboratory of Toxicology
and Industrial Medicine
ν Dr. John Zapp, Medical Director
ν Told to “keep DuPont out of trouble”
ν - 50 employees
ν Part of Employee Relations Department

10. 1970 OSHA Act Created Business Opportunity
for Haskell
ν Haskell became part of Central Research and Development
ν DuPont business units and their employees entitled to
workplace free of harm injury, stress, disease and loss
ν Haskell offers services
ν Toxicity testing
ν Product safety evaluation
ν Environmental fate studies
ν Industrial Hygiene
ν Joined Haskell as Chemist in 1967
ν Emphasis on employee safety (obey safety rules)
ν Line management commitment
ν Safety glasses, meetings and inspections mandatory
ν All employees and contractors empowered
ν Failure to comply could mean loss of job
ν “Snap, Crackle and Pop”

11. Contributions to Safety the next 30 years
(1970 – 2000)
ν Haskell embarked on environmental studies and evaluations
ν Lead studies
ν Alternative to Freons (Ozone issue)
ν Fiber solvent processes DMF, DMAc, HMPA
ν Sulfonylurea Herbicides (safe potent herbicides)
ν Impacted proposed regulations and guidelines
ν OSHA (lead standards)
ν EPA (TSCA)
ν Developed Industrial Hygiene Programs
ν R&D facilities and plant sites
ν Radiation (Savannah River, NEN)
ν Chemical (Chemical Hygiene Plans) polymers, pigments & paints
ν Biosafety (DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical)
ν Bio Polymers produced (Bio technology)

12. Contributions to Safety Continued…
ν Accredited IH Laboratory
ν Employee monitoring
ν Air sampling and analysis (Pro-Tek Badges)
ν Biomonitoring (urinary metabolites) MMF
ν Risk assessments, surveys and audits
ν Product Stewardship Programs
ν Services to customers
ν DuPont Safety Resource Center of Excellence
ν Safety consulting
ν Training

13. Contributions to Safety Continued…
ν Recent changes to programs
ν 2002 Haskell becomes independent Business Unit within DuPont
Science and Technology
ν Haskell Changes name to Haskell Laboratory for Health and
Environmental Sciences 2003
ν ~200 employees
ν Current Activities
ν Still emphasis on employee safety and health
ν Business units focused on new materials
through the “Miracles of Science” i.e. TyChem,
Nomex, Kevlar
ν Shift from industrial consumer products
ν Environmental concerns and safety of global
community business objective

14. Continuation of Safety Commitment
ν Safety Triad Safety
Regulatory Compliance Business Objective
ν Safety on top
ν Line management commitment and condition of
employment
ν Based on tradition
ν Technical knowledge and expertise
ν Trust in people
ν Key to Safety success is process
ν Anticipation – explosive hazard
ν Recognition – identify diseases
ν Evaluate – created lab
ν Control - obey safety rules or else