Safety

Borax will adhere to a more precise definition regarding violations of health and safety regulations in 2005. The company also added a target to measure voluntary participation in a new behavior-based safety training program. Other indicators of social performance are consistent with past practices.

Safety and Occupational Health
In 2004, Borax turned in its best safety record in company history, completing the year with only two lost time injuries. This means that for the entire year, only two people among more than 1,600 employees and contractors experienced injuries serious enough to cause them miss work.

Many operations also reached significant safety milestones in 2004. Teams at Borax Argentina, Borax Français, Borax Europe Ltd.'s Guildford Office and global headquarters in Valencia worked for more than 1,000 days without a lost time injury. Wilmington's team worked for more than 900. Even more impressive, Owens Lake Operations has worked for 23 years
and Borax España has worked for eight years without a lost
time injury. It is also worth noting that Borax contractors did
not experience any lost time injuries in 2004.

Borax launched a behavior-based safety program in 2004 at its primary mining and refining facility to improve safety observations and foster broader involvement. A team of 15 employees analyzed safety data to identify behaviors that cause the most accidents, and held observation and coaching training which nearly half the workforce attended voluntarily. The program has received unprecedented union endorsement, and will be implemented at each Borax operational facility in 2005.

Borax's global absentee rate in 2004 was 8.8 days per person. The absentee rate was 7.3 in 2003 and 9.1 in 2002.

Injury Frequency Rates

Safety Violations

Systems and Standards
Borax's safety systems have one overarching goal: to eliminate all occupational injuries and illnesses. The cornerstones of these systems are:

Awareness and Accountability:
Borax holds senior and line managers accountable for safety leadership, and all employees accountable for safety performance. Employees at U.S. operations – representing more than half our workforce – attend at least eight hours of safety training each year as required by law, and another 20 hours or more annually to meet Borax's internal safety standards.

Identifying and Managing Risk:
The company reports and investigates near-misses – or incidents that hold the potential for harm – and uses these data to determine incidents’ root causes. Risk assessments are also conducted before any project begins. Borax complies with Rio Tinto's Safety Standard for Recording and Reporting Incidents and Injuries.

Setting and Communicating Improvement Targets:
Safety is the first topic of every meeting involving Borax employees. The company's Global Executive Health & Safety Committee meets monthly to review performance and develop improvement plans.

This committee is comprised of executives as well as operations, health and safety managers and reports to Borax's Board of Directors. Individual sites appoint safety committees to develop and implement programs; these committees are comprised of salaried and hourly workers as well as union representatives at larger facilities.