National Safety Council

The National Safety Council (NSC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, public service organization promoting health and safety in the United States. Headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, NSC is a member organization, founded in 1913 and granted a congressional charter in 1953. Members include more than 55,000 businesses, labor organizations, schools, public agencies, private groups and individuals.
The group focuses on areas where the greatest number of preventable injuries and deaths occur, including workplace safety, prescription medication abuse, teen driving, cell phone use while driving and safety in homes and communities.
History.
In 1912, the first Cooperative Safety Congress was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The event was sponsored by the Association of Iron and Steel Electrical Engineers. The approximately 200 attendees, representing industry and government, resolved to “organize and create a permanent body for the promotion of the safety to human life in the industries of the United States.
At the Second Safety Congress in 1913, the National Council for Industrial Safety was established. It was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and Robert W. Campbell served as first president and William H. Cameron served as secretary.
The name was changed to National Safety Council in 1914, to reflect the organization's expanded scope to include traffic and home safety. As membership increased, the NSC began producing posters, technical fact sheets, and other publications.
In 1953, the U.S. Congress and President Dwight D. Eisenhower recognized the importance of the NSC’s efforts with a Congressional charter to: “...arouse and maintain the interest of the people of the United States... in safety and in accident prevention, and to encourage the adoption and institution of safety methods by all persons, corporations, and other organizations."
Organization.
NSC is governed by a Board of Directors and a Board of Delegates. The Board of Directors manages fiduciary and strategic affairs. The Board of Delegates develops the mission agenda, creates public policies, and tracks safety, health and environmental trends. More than 2,000 volunteers, drawn from NSC industry volunteer divisions, assist the boards in determining policies, operating procedures and programs to be developed and implemented by the council's professional staff.
The National Safety Council's network of 21 local chapters conducts safety, health and environmental efforts at the community level, providing training, conferences, workshops, consultation, newsletters, updates and safety support materials, as well as networking avenues.
Members of NSC are segmented into Divisions, also known as special interest groups. Division members plan and create programs for the annual NSC Congress & Expo, and participate in discussions of research findings, new concepts, trends, and ideas for safety challenges. Divisions meet twice a year. The divisions are Business & Industry, Construction, Highway Traffic Safety, Labor, Motor Transportation, and Utilities. Some divisions are further segmented into sections.
NSC Congress and Expo.
Held each fall, the NSC Congress & Expo attracts 15,000 safety and health professionals, plus industry suppliers from several countries. The event promotes safety and health products and services, and new safety technologies and training methods. Members attending the annual Congress can also earn continuing education credits by participating in technical sessions and professional development seminars.
National Safety Month.
In 1996 NSC established June as National Safety Month, aiming to increase awareness of the leading safety and health risks and ultimately decrease the number of unintentional injuries and deaths. Each week focuses on a specific safety venue: workplace, traffic, home, and community.