Green for Danger? Environmental Protection and Safety Management in The UK Chemicals Industries

Abstract

Focusing largely upon the UK chemical industry, this paper considers the potentially problematic juxtaposition between protecting employee safety on the one hand, and preventing environmental degradation on the other. The paper begins with a series of observations upon the state of safety manage ment in the UK chemical industry. Common weaknesses in safety manage ment are noted; these revolve around a key contradiction for managements, while this contradiction itself is rooted in the predominance of a technocrat ic managerial paradigm. Turning then to attempts within the UK chemical industry to respond to environmental pressures, the remainder of the paper focuses upon implications of attempts at developng "cleaner" technologies and forms of work organization. Four implications are noted: general resource constraints, pressures on training, problems in the means of intro ducing and implementing change, and the reinforcement of technocracy. It is argued that responding to environmental pressures is likely to take priority over occupational safety in the chemical industry; that there is no necessary complementarity between management efforts in these two areas, and that attempting to accommodate these twin efforts within a technocratic manage rial paradigm is likely to result in some deterioration in occupational safety. Finally, two broad scenarios are noted in terms of the ways in which existent contradictions might work themselves out. In conclusion, it is anticipated that the continued predominance of a technocratic managerial paradigm will prevent managements from addressing both environmental protection and safety management in a coherent and strategic fashion.