Environment
Since becoming part of Dow Canada in 2001, the Prentiss site has been successfully reducing its impact on the environment. Carbon dioxide emissions per pound of production have decreased significantly, as have chemical emissions from our operations. In 2008, the Prentiss site also achieved zero ‘loss of primary containment’ incidents. These incidents are defined as those where a product or chemical escapes containment and has the potential to affect the environment.
In April 2009, the Prentiss site was awarded EnviroVista Leader status for the fourth year in a row through the Government of Alberta’s EnviroVista program. The program recognizes companies that exceed provincial environmental expectations and legislation, as well as demonstrate responsibility, stewardship and an ongoing commitment to improve environmental performance.
Health and Safety
The Prentiss site is committed to the safety and well-being of our employees and preventing adverse events that could affect the surrounding farmland and municipalities in our region. We emphasize both worker and process safety and continually strive to improve practices and procedures to achieve our "Vision of Zero".
Dow’s emergency response teams are amongst the best in our industry, ready to respond to any incident related to product or worker safety. In the Prentiss area, we cooperate with regional municipalities and local industries to provide mutual aid emergency response efforts. We are also committed to share information 24-7 about unusual activities on our site through our Community Line at 1-403-885-7249.
Rail transportation safety is also a priority for the Prentiss site, as close to 15,000 railcars leave our site each year carrying products to our customers. We have comprehensive risk assessment programs to evaluate security with respect to raw material and product transportation. We also work closely with our transportation partners to assess the effectiveness of their safety and security programs. For eight consecutive years, the Prentiss site has been honoured by the Canadian Pacific Railway for our safety record in managing and transporting regulated hazardous materials.