The debate involves whether the word “accident” should be used to describe workplace mishaps, particularly those involving personal injury or property damage. Critics contend that the word “accident” implies a certain inevitability and breeds a passive acceptance of risks that directly contributes to the occurrence of accidents; defenders contend that the word “accident” is linguistically and clinically appropriate and that attempts to substitute the word “incident” artificially manipulate the language and distance the safety profession from the real world.

Does any of this matter? “To an outsider, this might all seem like a battle over semantics and the splitting of hairs,” notes Glenn Demby, Editor-in-Chief of SafetyXChange.org. “But for safety professionals, it goes right to the soul of workplace safety and the role of the professional in protecting workers against risks.”

The response of safety professionals seems to bear Demby out. In response to the debate, (which was initially triggered by the article, “The Real Cause of Accidents” written by SafetyXChange Advisory Board Member Wayne Pardy and the rebuttal by Calgary HSSE director Greg MacDonald), more than 50 safety professionals from the U.S., Canada and other parts of the world have written to SafetyXChange.org to express their views. And two days later, the responses are still coming.

SafetyXChange.org was planning to publish all of the responses on October 4 in its regular Wednesday Safety Economics newsletter. But the sheer volume of responses has caught them off guard.

Says Demby, “This newsletter is supposed to be a short and quick read and I don’t see how we’re going to be able to do justice to all the respondents in such a format.”

Still, Demby admits it’s a pleasant problem to have. “Provoking thoughtful debate and discussion is what SafetyXChange is all about. How can I complain about the zeal and passion being exhibited by the members of SafetyXChange.”

To read the original article and join the debate, visit www.SafetyXChange.org. You’ll find the archived article in the Financing Safety section of the Knowledge Center.

About SafetyXChange

After just one year, SafetyXChange.org has had unprecedented success in attracting large numbers of loyal members and fostering a dialog to promote fresh thinking and insight on safety issues. Presently, approximately 14,000 international members participate in the forum, receive the free daily e-newsletters and access more than 300 free articles and Tools in the Knowledge Center. Additional information about SafetyXChange is available on its website at www.safetyxchange.org.