It has been noted over and over again that in the vast majority of occupational accidents, human failure is wholly or partly responsible....
In many of the major industries the programs in occupational safety and health are successful, are well advanced, and have been developed to the point where the important remaining problem is human failure.
The major problem in occupational safety and health is how to motivate people to work safely. We endorse any action that promises to contribute to a solution of that problem. Accordingly, we endorse proposals for Federal government support of research, education, and training and support to the States in improving their standards of performance.
Basic progress in occupational safety and health has been made, primarily, on the basis of voluntary action.
[T]he human factor is one of the most important causal elements involved in any accidental occurrence. It is estimated that 75 percent or more of all injuries from accidents result from a negligent or unsafe act on the part of the individual involved….The development of positive safety attitudes and safety effectiveness on the part of each individual employee is the most direct approach to the reduction of industrial accidents.
Each employee must be motivated through training, education, by supervision to understand and to want to perform work safely. This desire must come from within—it cannot be imposed through the threat of civil or criminal sanctions against the employer. NAM believes that…the Secretary of Labor should not be given such unprecedented powers as proposed in this bill.
The vast majority of accidents result from human failings. No amount of legislation against employers is going to stop an employee who decides to take a short cut in his job or to shed his steel-toed shoes or safety helmet.
The human factor is the most important cause of accidents and injuries. It has been estimated that 75 to 85 percent of all such occurrences have been caused by a negligent or unsafe act on the part of an individual...This cannot be [fixed] through legislation.
We find that 80 to 90 percent of the injuries which are occurring in our company [Du Pont] are due to a human failure rather than a piece of equipment, a machine, or so on.
There is no evidence that [leaded gasoline] has introduced a danger in the field of public health…lead is an inevitable element in the surface of the earth, in its vegetation, in its animal life, and that there is no way in which man has ever been able to escape the absorption of lead while living in this planet.
