15 December
MOSCOW,
Press Release

Moscow, 15 December 2008 – UC RUSAL, the world’s largest alumina and aluminium producer, announces the adoption of a new corporate policy on health and safety, which is in line with the best international practice in this area.

The new version of the corporate Heath and Safety (H&S) Policy has replaced the framework adopted by RUSAL in 2001 and takes into account both the innovative character and global geographical footprint of UC RUSAL. The development methodology and format of the H&S Policy, as well as its continuous improvement are in full compliance with the OHSAS 18001 international standard regulating health & safety management systems.
 
UC RUSAL’s H&S Policy sets out unified objectives, principles and requirements for health and safety management. It allows the company to make full-scale use of available resources and mechanisms in order to implement its H&S strategy.

The important step forward made in this policy is the unification of standards for all the company’s production facilities in H&S-related areas, like planning and reporting H&S costs, requirements for contractors to ensure the same safety standards, and corporate criteria for assessing qualification of H&S managers on all the company’s production sites.

As a result of the pro-active approach pursued by the company in the H&S area, the Lost Time Accident Frequency Rate (LTAFR)* showed a 37% reduction over the period from 2004 to 2007. Last year, this rate at the company’s operations was 0.19, which made the company one of the leaders among its global metals and mining industry peers. In 2007, more than USD 50 mln were channelled into H&S activities on UC RUSAL production sites. 

Commenting on the new UC RUSAL H&S Policy, Ivan Rebrik, the head of the HSE Department, said: “We consider activity in the H&S sphere to be a central part of our business. Continuous improvements of our H&S statistics are an essential condition for the sustainable development of UC RUSAL. The objective of the new policy is to reach the zero accident level and prevent accidents and fires on our production sites. Our H&S Policy is also designed to maintain safe working conditions and the health of our staff and to prevent occupational diseases at all the company’s production facilities around the world.”

*LTAFR is the number of lost-time accidents per 200,000 hours worked

About UC RUSAL

United Company RUSAL (www.rusal.com) is the global leader in the aluminium industry and accounts for approximately 12% and 15% of the global production of aluminium and alumina respectively. The company was founded in March 2007 through the merger of RUSAL, SUAL and the alumina assets of Glencore. UC RUSAL sells its products in 70 countries worldwide and employs 90,000 people in 19 countries across five continents.