Responsible Care is a commitment on the part of all members of The Canadian Chemical Producers' Association (CCPA). In 1984, all member company presidents signed a statement pledging that his/her company was "committed to taking every practical precaution toward ensuring that our products do not present an unacceptable risk to our employees, customers, the public or the environment."

This means that a company's concern for safety begins when a product is being considered for production - and ends only when a product is safely disposed of after its ultimate use.

Formal endorsement of Responsible Care is a condition of membership in the CCPA.

CVECO stands for the Chemical Valley Emergency Coordinating Organization. It was formed in 1951 by local police departments, fire departments and industry to provide a coordinated service by all local emergency response groups to deal with ALL municipal and industrial emergencies. CVECO conducts regular testing of our emergency plan, and was responsible for the creation of the Industrial Fire School at Lambton College.

CAER stands for Community Awareness & Emergency Response. In Sarnia I Lambton, the local petrochemical industries sponsor CAER, with the support of local government officials and CVFCO.

The Community Awareness side of CAER involves a speaker's bureau for local groups and schools, and several information pieces, of which this book is one. The Emergency Response side of CAER involves each company's programs to reduce the severity and frequency of accidental chemical releases, to effectively deal with chemical emergencies on site, and to join with CVECO and other industry response teams to deal with emergencies in the community.