COLUMBUS — The Ohio Chemistry Technology Council (OCTC) this week recognized exceptional performances in environmental, health, safety and security by two local companies at the organization’s annual Awards for Excellence dinner.

Americas Styrenics in Hanging Rock and the Dow Chemical Company in Ironton were among a group of 24 companies in Ohio selected for the awards.

The Awards for Excellence are presented to companies that have shown commitment to the protection of people and the environment, safety at its facilities and effective communications with the public in at least one of the award’s four performance areas.

One company whose performance is judged exemplary among the group of distinguished Awards for Excellence recipients is selected for the Eagle Award.

Americas Styrenics’ Hanging Rock facility is committed to manufacturing, handling, transporting and disposing of chemical products safely. Through a variety of capital project upgrades, synergies, repairs and refined work processes, the facility successfully reduced greenhouse emissions and improved air quality. The facility also worked to improve the quality of life for their employees and community through the giving of resources, time and encouragement.

In 2014, the Dow Chemical Company’s Hanging Rock facility implemented a project to help mitigate a potential dust explosion, the plant’s largest process safety concern. By partnering with an industry leader to engineer a process control monitor system, the risk of an event heavily decreased while ensuring the dust collection system operates at peak performance. The project implemented sensors alert operations of unsafe condition and, if needed, automatically shutdown the process.

American Chemistry Council President and CEO Cal Dooley delivered the keynote address during the presentation of the awards.

The Awards for Excellence dinner serves as the opening events for the OCTC 37th Annual Conference in Columbus.

The conference will continue today with industry and regulatory panelists and a special appearance by Ohio Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor.

Ohio’s chemical technology industry is the second largest manufacturing industry in Ohio and the sixth largest chemical manufacturing state in the nation.