Cabot Supermetals honored for safety performance

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) certified Cabot Supermetals as a Star site, or the highest level, in its prestigious Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP). During a recent ceremony at the company's Boyertown, Pa., facility, John Hermanson, OSHA's regional administrator in Philadelphia, presented the company with the VPP Star flag.

"Cabot Supermetals consistently has demonstrated a strong commitment to employee safety and health," said Hermanson. "The company has maintained an injury and illness rate below the industry average for three years."

Cabot Supermetals refines tantalum and niobium ores and produces potassium tantalum fluoride. The company has 180 employees.

Designed for worksites with comprehensive, successful safety and health programs, the VPP is open to all industries and to employers with injury rates below their respective industries' national averages.

More than 2,030 worksites nationwide have earned entry into OSHA's VPP. Over the years, the VPP has proven to be an effective means of reducing injuries, illnesses, fatalities and costs, while fostering a more productive workforce and increasing employee morale.

OSHA has improved workplace safety and health over the past 37 years. This success is reflected in the latest data (2006) showing the lowest national injury and illness incidence rate that the Bureau of Labor Statistics has ever recorded. OSHA will continue to work diligently to focus its resources where they will have the most impact in assuring that every working man and woman returns home safely every day.