DuPont Co. executives said Tuesday that Mexico needs to spend more money on accident prevention and training to lower high fatality rates in the workplace, according to a report from Dow Jones Newswires.

In Mexico, one worker dies every six hours, compared with a global average of one death every 48 hours, according to a company presentation. Mexican companies need to make accident prevention more of a priority to reduce the number of industrial fatalities, said Guillermo Kareh Aerun, DuPont's vice president of corporate safety for Latin America.

"Business leaders need to recognize that safety is just as important as buying raw materials," said Kareh, speaking to reporters at a child safety event in Mexico City. "There needs to be a cultural shift."

He said that there is plenty of room for growth in the domestic market for industrial safety training and consulting.

"Safety awareness among large, medium and small companies is growing," said Kareh. "It is starting to become a larger part of our sales."

In Mexico, DuPont has reported an accident rate of 3 workers for every 1,000, compared with 40 for each 1,000 in the U.S. chemicals industry. Besides providing training services, DuPont is also advising the Mexican government on upcoming safety legislation.