TRANSCAER 2011 Awards Cap a Milestone Year
The organization recently said its anhydrous ammonia tour trained more than 60,000 emergency responders during 2011.
TRANSCAER announced its 2011 national awards on April 6, with the recipients of National Achievement awards including six railroad companies and two other organizations. TRANSCAER (Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response) is a voluntary national outreach effort sponsored by the American Chemistry Council, the Association of American Railroads, CHEMTREC®, The Chlorine Institute, The Fertilizer Institute, and the Renewable Fuels Association; it helps communities prepare for and respond to hazmat transportation incidents.
The organization also announced winners of its Chairman's Award, Torch Award, Regional Achievement awards, and Individual Achievement awards. Many recipients will accept their awards during a May 22 ceremony at the Association of American Railroads/Bureau of Explosives' 25th annual Hazardous Materials Seminar in St. Louis, Mo.
A major TRANSCAER training initiative about anhydrous ammonia went nationwide last year and is continuing this year. "Our 2011 training season, thanks in large part to the more than 60,000 emergency responders trained during our anhydrous ammonia tour, was the most impactful training year in TRANSCAER's history," said National TRANSCAER Task Group Chair Rollie Shook of Dow Chemical Co. "The TRANSCAER Awards program allows us to acknowledge and thank our dedicated volunteers for their truly remarkable accomplishments, demonstrated through their continuous efforts to ensure communities are prepared to deal with possible hazardous materials transportation-related incidents."
2011 award winners include:
National Achievement:
- BNSF Railway Company
- CN Dangerous Goods Team, Canadian National Railways
- Canadian Pacific
- CSX Transportation
- DuPont CAER Car Program
- Norfolk Southern Corporation
- The Dow Chemical Company
- Union Pacific Railroad
Chairman's Award:
- Don Evans, deputy general counsel at the American Chemistry Council
Torch Award:
- Mike Stiner, TRANSCAER Region 2 coordinator, Norfolk Southern Corporation
Regional Achievement:
- Bob Baxter, TRANSCAER's North Carolina State Team Coordinator, HEPACO
- TRANSCAER's California State Team, Scott Etzel, The Dow Chemical Company; and Dan Coots, TCR Industries, Inc.
- Dave Buccolo, TRANSCAER's Region 4 Coordinator, Central California Traction Company