The EPA awarded Union Carbide Corp. (UCC) with its Environmental Quality Award, the highest recognition presented to the public by the agency.
The award is presented to companies, groups, and individuals who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to protecting and enhancing regional environmental quality. The EPA recognized Union Carbide for the efforts of its Bound Brook, N.J., facility last year to assist the agency and the U.S. Coast Guard in disaster relief and cleanup of the Raritan River in the wake of Hurricane Floyd.
"Our facility is in one of the more highly elevated areas in the community and it provided a good location for the EPA to temporarily store materials during the cleanup," says UCC Facility Manager Gene Reinhardt. In addition to a secure storage area, UCC provided an electrical hookup to its power grid for the EPA's operations center.
Reinhardt also notes that UCC participates in Responsible Care -- the chemical industry's health, safety, and environmental performance improvement initiative. It is also the ethical framework adopted by the Chemical Manufacturers Assn. Union Carbide was instrumental in the chemical industry adopting this initiative.
