Congratulations, with our appreciation, to the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. for removing the black eye given to the plastics industry by a negligent and inappropriate system of data reporting created by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in regard to industrial accident statistics.
It seems very obvious that OSHA should have related its numbers on a per-capita basis, rather than total numbers, as was successfully argued eventually by SPI's Maureen Healey and lawyer Larry Halprin (“Feds rework amputations safety plan,” Page 1, April 15).
Now, perhaps, someone should figure out how to roll back the pricing up of workers' compensation and liability insurance as has been imposed by insurers since the grossly negligent OSHA data was released. This error has probably cost plastics processors hundreds of millions of excessive insurance premiums, let alone narrowing the market as underwriters have moved out of offering coverage within the industry.
Thankfully, the new administration in Washington is making the right kind of difference, including the willingness to listen.
Martin N. Kellogg
UFE Inc.
Stillwater, Minn.
