CSX Transportation Announces 2009 Chemical Safety Excellence Award Winners

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., March 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CSX Transportation (CSXT) today announced a record 73 winners of its annual Chemical Safety Excellence Award (CSEA), celebrating customers' commitment to safe hazardous material rail car loading and maintenance.

"The CSEA recipients understand the best practices of chemical safety, and they have demonstrated a commitment to those practices and strong industry leadership among their peers," said Clarence Gooden, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at CSX. "Safety is a core value for CSX, and we appreciate the winners' help in making CSX one of the safest freight transportation companies in North America."

To qualify for the award, each winner shipped 600 or more railcars during 2009 on CSXT, with no non-accidental hazardous material releases through the entire year. Shippers include companies from the chemicals, fertilizer, agriculture and metals merchandise commodity markets as well as from emerging markets.

The awards ceremony will be held today, March 17, in Baltimore, Maryland. Along with Gooden, speakers at the ceremony will include Skip Elliott, vice president of Public Safety & Environment; Dean Piacente, vice president of Chemicals & Fertilizer; Tim Male, assistant vice president of Advanced Engineering; and Bill Schoonover, Office of Safety Assurance & Compliance, Hazardous Materials Division of the Federal Railroad Administration.

At the ceremony, CSX's senior management will discuss the current operating environment and explain how CSX's safety initiatives are evolving to address changing federal policy and a continued emphasis on protecting the environment. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to tour the B&O Railroad Museum and to ride the rails to the site where the First Stone of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was laid on July 4, 1828 by Charles Carroll, the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence.

This year, CSXT is proud to specially recognize shippers who have shown a five-year commitment to chemical safety excellence.  These winners are: BASF Corporation; BP Products North America; CF Industries, Inc.; Eka Chemicals, Inc.; Inter-Chem; Kemira Finnchem; Kinetic Resources (LPG); Nan Ya Plastics Corporation America; NGL; Targa Transport LLC; Valero Marketing and Supply, Inc.; and Westlake CA&O.

Additional winners for 2009 include: Abengoa Bioenergy US; Air Liquide Industrial U.S.; Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.; ALON USA; American Ecology Corporation; The Andersons; Arizona Chemical; Arkema, Inc.; Ascend Performance Materials LLC; ASHTA Chemicals, Inc.; Aux Sable Liquid Products; Cardinal Ethanol LLC; Cargill, Inc.; Celanese; Chemtrade Logistics, Inc.; Chevron Products Company; Citgo Petroleum Corporation; Consumer Co-Op. Refinery Ltd. (Division of Federated Co-Op. Ltd.); Countrymark Cooperative; Dominion Transmission, Inc.; The Dow Chemical Company; Dow Corning Corporation; Eastman Chemical Company; EQ Northeast, Inc.; Evonik Degussa Corporation; ExxonMobil Chemical; Glacial Lakes Energy; Granite Falls Energy LLC; Green Plains Renewable Energy; Hawkeye; Huntsman; Husky Energy Lima Refinery; INEOS Nitriles; INEOS Phenol; Irving Oil Limited; Kemira Water Solutions; Koch Sulfur Products; Koppers, Inc.; LyondellBasell; Marsulex; MHF Services; Moose Jaw Asphalt, Inc.; NorFalco LLC; Nucor Corporation; NuStar Energy L. P.; Nyrstar; Occidental Chemical Corporation; Olin Chlor Alkali Products; Patriot Renewable Fuels LLC; Platinum Ethanol LLC; Praxair, Inc.; Pursue Energy; Reagent Chemical and Research; SABIC Americas, Inc.; SABIC Innovative Plastics; Shell Chemicals Canada; Sunoco Chemicals, Inc.; Transammonia, Inc.; Tronox; United Refining Company; Utica Energy; and Western Wisconsin Energy LLC.

CSX Transportation is a principal operating company of CSX Corporation. CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is a leading transportation company providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services. The company's transportation network spans approximately 21,000 miles with service to 23 eastern states and the District of Columbia, and connects to more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports. More information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at www.csx.com.

SOURCE CSX Transportation