AAR recognizes hazmat award recipients

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has announced the 2014 recipients of the Holden-Proefrock Award, Non-Accident Release (NAR) Grand Slam Award, and Perfect Game Award. In addition, TRANSCAER® (Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response) announced its National Achievement Awards. The awards were presented at the 28th Annual AAR/BOE (Bureau of Explosives) Hazmat Seminar in Addison, Tex.

Romano DeSimone, a CSX Transportation employee, received the Holden-Proefrock Award. This award is given annually to a person associated with the railroad industry who has made lifetime contributions to the field of hazmat safety by rail. “Throughout his more than 30 year career with CSX, DeSimone has demonstrated great leadership while contributing to numerous advances in the field of hazmat emergency response,” AAR said. “His accomplishments include educating first responders, developing relationships with local emergency management personnel and contributing to industry advances such as commodity specific training, tank car enhancements and response preparedness.”

The award is named in honor of Roy Holden, a former AAR employee and a pioneer in tank car design and safety, and Art Proefrock, a former Hulcher Emergency Services employee who was a pioneer in hazardous materials transportation emergency response.

2014 AAR NAR Reduction Awards winners:

The 2014 Non-Accident Release Grand Slam Award went to Celanese Corp., CF Industries Holdings, Inc., Keyera Corp., Koppers Inc. and Pembina. “AAR and the BOE bestow the Non-Accident Release Grand Slam Award annually to companies that are exemplary shippers of hazardous materials,” AAR said. An award winner must have been recognized by at least four Class I railroads and have had zero non-accident releases (NARs) involving their shipments the previous calendar year. (A hazardous materials non-accident release is an unintentional release of a hazardous material while in transportation, but not involving an accident.)

The 2014 Perfect Game Award went to Aux Sable Liquid Products LP, Canexus Corp., Centennial Energy, LLC, Global Partners LP, Linde Group, Marathon Petroleum Corp., NOVA Chemicals Corp. and Styrolution America, LLC. To be eligible to receive the award, a shipper must be honored by at least four Class I North American railroads and have had zero NARs from rail shipments both to and from a consignee over a calendar year.

Six Class I railroads including BNSF, CN, Canadian Pacific, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific recently received the 2014 TRANSCAER® National Achievement Award “in recognition of their extraordinary efforts in support of the TRANSCAER® initiative,” AAR said. Additional winners of the TRANSCAER® Award were California Traction and the Renewable Fuels Association. TRANSCAER® is a voluntary national outreach effort that focuses on assisting communities to prepare for and to respond to a possible hazardous material transportation incident. TRANSCAER® members consist of volunteer representatives from the chemical manufacturing, transportation, distributor and emergency response industries, as well as government.