Freight rail, shippers honor hazmat handlers

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) earlier this week announced the 2015 recipients of the Holden-Proefrock Award and Non-Accident Release Grand Slam Award.

In addition, TRANSCAER^® announced the winners of its National Achievement Awards. The awards are given annually to individuals and railroads operating in the hazardous materials fields, according to an AAR press release.

AAR named Allen Richter, a member of Conrail's risk management team, the recipient of the Holden-Proefrock Award. Richter, who joined Conrail in 1995, has built a "strong rapport and trust" with the emergency first responders in the communities where Conrail operates, AAR officials said.

Richter's accomplishments include serving as a "powerful and charismatic instructor" to first responders, contributing to AAR's Tank Car and Hazmat committees through his knowledge of tank cars and hazardous materials regulation, and demonstrating environmental excellence through successful coordination of asbestos surveys and abatements.

The Holden-Proefrock Award is named in honor of Roy Holden, a former AAR employee and an innovator in tank car design and safety, and Art Proefrock, a former Hulcher Emergency Services employee who pioneered hazardous materials transportation emergency response.

The Non-Accident Release Grand Slam was awarded to 33 companies. They are Atlantic Trading and Marketing Inc., Axiall Corp., BASF Corp., Canexus Corp., Cenovus Energy LLC, Chemtrade Logistics Inc., CHS Inc., Connacher Oil and Gas Ltd., Elbow River Marketing Ltd., ERCO Worldwide, Flint Hills Resources, Gibson Energy Inc. and Green Plains Inc.

Also receiving the award were Husky Energy Inc., INEOS, Kemira, Keyera Energy, Koppers Inc., Marathon Petroleum Co., Mercuria Energy Trading Inc., Methanex Methanol, NorFalco Sales, Glencore Canada Corp., NOVA Chemicals, Olin Chlor Alkali, PBF Energy, Pembina Resource Services, Phillips 66 Co., POET Ethanol Products, PVS Chemicals Inc., Shell Chemicals, Styrolution America LLC and Sunoco Logistics Partners LP.

AAR and the Bureau of Explosives present the Grand Slam award annually to companies that are exemplary shippers of hazardous materials. The winners must have been recognized by at least four Class Is and have had zero non-accident releases involving their shipments in the previous calendar year.

Meanwhile, six Class Is received the 2015 TRANSCAER National Achievement Award in recognition of extraordinary efforts in support of the TRANSCAER initiative. The Class Is recognized were BNSF Railway Co., Canadian National Dangerous Goods Team/ CN, Canadian Pacific, CSX, Norfolk Southern Corp. and Union Pacific Railroad. Kansas City Southern received the 2015 TRANSCAER Regional Achievement Award.

TRANSCAER, which stands for Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response, is a voluntary, national outreach effort that focuses on assisting communities to prepare for and respond to possible hazardous material transportation incidents.

TRANSCAER members include volunteer representatives from the chemical manufacturing, transportation, distributor and emergency response industries, as well as government.