| 2004 ACS Award Winners | |
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The Alliance for Chemical Safety held its fourth annual awards banquet on January 19, 2005 at Cincinnati State. The keynote speaker was Angela Blair of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, Washington, D.C. Following her presentation, the Alliance presented awards for Best Risk Reduction, Best Communication and the Second Mile Award for going the extra mile to promote chemical safety in the Greater Cincinnati area. The award recipients are listed below: |
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| 2004 Risk Reduction Award | |
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Holly Christmann of Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services accepts the award from Bob Harper, Alliance chair. |
The Hamilton County Solid Waste District received the Alliance's 2004 Risk Reduction Award for its pioneering efforts in reducing household hazardous materials throughout the county. From May to September 2004, 2,743 households participated in a pilot drop off program sponsored by the Solid Waste District. Using a voucher system, residents dropped off 292,000 pounds of materials for free. Hazardous items collected included pesticides, solvents, gasoline and paint. Improperly disposing of these and other hazardous items can interfere with the wastewater treatment process, cause accidental poisonings, contaminate groundwater as well as injure the waste haulers. |
| 2004 Risk Reduction Award | |
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Jim Beaulieu, Cognis operations director (left) and Mike Groh, Cognis safety manager (middle) accept their award from Bob Harper, Alliance chair. |
Cognis, a leading specialty chemicals company, received the Alliance's 2004 Risk Reduction Award for safety improvements in handling ammonia. In addition to maintaining a minimal inventory of ammonia on site, Cognis further enhanced safety by upgrading perimeter security, then installing internal fencing around the largest supplies of ammonia. The company also installed ammonia leak detection devices that are calibrated to alarm at 25ppm. Furthermore, Cognis upgraded its over pressure protection, including installing duel valves in pressure vessels, piping, etc., installing rupture disks under relief valves, and installing sensors on the rupture disks that are set to alarm even if only a small stress crack occurs. Finally, to continue their employee education efforts, Cognis developed a CD-Rom based training program on ammonia handling that all process operators must complete. |
| Risk Communication Award | |
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Bob Morford, news director at WCPO Channel 9 (left), accepts the award from Bob Harper, Alliance chair. |
WCPO (Channel 9) received the Alliance's 2004 Risk Communication Award for its coverage of the warehouse fire at Queen City Barrel in Lower Price Hill. Their non-stop coverage at the warehouse on the night of August 19, 2004 was a tremendous service to the Greater Cincinnati Community. WCPOıs coverage provided valuable real-time information to citizens concerned about the health impacts of the fire. From the Alliance for Chemical Safetyıs perspective, two particular components of the coverage were especially significant: the accurate, detailed information regarding shelter-in-place instructions and the Spanish language translation of this information. |
| Second Mile Award | |
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Marjorie Evert (left) and Dr. Carl Evert (middle) accept their award from Bob Harper, Alliance chair. |
Dr. Carl and Marjorie Evert, longtime local activists, received the Alliance's 2004 Second Mile Award for their assistance in furthering the Allianceıs mission to improve chemical safety. The Evertıs have made a major contribution by time and again insisting on corporate responsibility at the local and regional levels, but theyıve garnered wide spread results for their efforts. Carl and Marjorie have continued to champion hazardous waste reduction, significantly reducing risk to the community and simultaneously changing attitudes and behaviors within the region. Furthermore, the Evertıs have set the standard for promoting open communication between all segments of the community by ensuring that all parties are heard fairly and respectfully. |
