Listing this plaque under the "Medals" section is a bit of a stretch. It is mounted on a large mahogany board and intended to be displayed on a wall. I put it here because it is a bronze bas-relief work and can be seen as a medallic object even though - at 255mm x 380mm - it is very much on the large side.
The plaque shows two conjoined male figures wearing laurels, figure in back holding a palm frond, figure in front holding flask in one hand and shield in other; all kinds of chemical laboratory equipment arrayed at their feet and large chemical industry installations behind them. Above, LAMMOT DUPONT SAFETY AWARD; below, MANUFACTRING CHEMISTS' ASSOCIATION / FOR IMPROVEMENT IN INDUSTRIAL SAFETY / AND REDUCTION IN INJURY FREQUENCY
Elsa Atson of the Chemical Heritage Foundation graciously agreed to do some research on my behalf and unearthed the following information in the MCA minutes:
During his long association with the MCA, Lammot du Pont was keenly interested in chemical plant safety. It was at his instigation that the Association's safety activities began, and he was responsible for the establishment of the monthly injury reporting service introduced in 1946.
His interest continued after retirement, and he offered to finance annual awards to member companies for injury frequency rate reductions. The Board of Directors accepted the offer in April, 1950, and the first awards were made at the Association's annual meeting in 1952.
The prestige associated with the Lammot du Pont Safety Award makes it one of the most coveted of all industry awards. Undoubtedly, efforts to win it have contributed to the reduction of the overall member company injury frequency rate.
Based on this information, Rene Chambellan probably started working on this design in 1950 but I have dated the plaque with the award's inaugural year. This instance of the plaque was awarded to the SUNOLIN CHEMICAL COMPANY in 1979.
Many thanks to Renaissance Man Antiques for granting me the use of the picture.