TRANSCAER® REWARDS INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS FOR COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY SAFETY

JOC Staff |
ARLINGTON, Va. (April 30, 2010) — In recognition of their hard work in helping communities prepare for and respond to possible transportation incidents involving hazardous materials (HAZMAT), nearly 30 organizations and 78 individuals recently received national recognition awards from TRANSCAER® (Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response) for their efforts in 2009.

Participating TRANSCAER companies train local emergency responders through a combination of hands-on activities, emergency planning assistance, and community drills and exercises. Their outreach includes training on actual rail and truck equipment, table-top exercises to discuss possible emergency situations, and whistle-stop tours that provide emergency-preparedness training to response organizations, as well as education about equipment and chemical transportation for communities near major transportation routes.

“These prestigious annual awards recognize the achievements of individuals, teams, and organizations that have exceeded the call of duty when it comes to being a leader in hazard materials incident-response training,” explained Rollie Shook, CPP, Global Emergency Services leader at The Dow Chemical Company, and chairman of the TRANSCAER task group that bestows the awards. “All of these recipients have demonstrated a clear commitment to the emergency responders and the communities where they serve to enhance safety.”

The 2009 TRANSCAER awards and recipients:

The National Achievement Award is given in recognition of extraordinary achievement by a person, company, organization, or team in support of the TRANSCAER initiative, and extending beyond the geographic boundaries of any one region. 2009 Recipients: BNSF Railway Company; Canadian National Railways; CSX Transportation; Norfolk Southern Corporation; Specialized Response Solutions; The Chlorine Institute, Inc.; The Dow Chemical Company; Union Pacific Railroad.

The Regional Achievement Award is given in recognition of extraordinary achievement by a person, company, organization, or team in support of the TRANSCAER initiative. 2009 Recipients: California TRANSCAER; Pennsylvania TRANSCAER.

The TRANSCAER Chairman's Award is bestowed at the discretion of the current chairman. 2009 Recipients: Dave Buccolo of Central California Traction Company; Brock Lowman of BNSF Railway Company.

In addition, more than 80 people from a variety of industries and organizations received Individual Recognition Awards and Certificates of Appreciation, which recognize the special efforts of an individual, team, company, or other organization in advancing the principles of TRANSCAER.

The full list of current and previous award recipients is available by visiting the TRANSCAER Web site at www.transcaer.com/awards/past-award-recipients. For more information about TRANSCAER, visit www.transcaer.com.