A commitment to safety means a commitment to proactively protecting our employees, our community and the environment. Our terminals follow strict operating procedures designed to prevent accidents before they happen. These include:
Inspections
Twice a day — at the beginning of each shift — Global employees work through a detailed safety and inspection checklist, and identify any additional maintenance that may be required. Over the past five years, the terminal has undergone hundreds of inspections by state and federal agencies who have turned up no substantive violations. These agencies include the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Albany County Department of Health.
Training & Drills
Through monthly safety meetings and regular exercises, Global continuously trains employees on safe operating protocols and emergency response.
Global works closely with the Albany Fire Department, Police Department, and the first responders. We also work with Texas-based Williams Fire & Hazard Control, a global leader in fire suppression and response. We regularly work with local firefighters to provide additional training specific to the facility. These sessions also serve to familiarize the Albany Fire Department with the terminal and the equipment on hand. In the event of an emergency, the Albany Fire Department would serve as Incident Commander. As required by our Major Oil Storage Facility (MOSF) License, Global’s Evaluation of Fire Response and Suppression Resources is available.
We work with the National Response Corporation, the world’s largest provider of commercial environmental and industrial resources, to provide additional resources in the event of a spill. Though only required to do so twice a year, we’ll perform as many as four drills per year to ensure proper deployment of spill containment booms. Per our MOSF License, we keep and annually update our Spill Prevention Control & Countermeasures Plan.
Once a year, we host a tabletop exercise to work through an emergency scenario. Following each drill, a documented review is conducted to evaluate drill performance and to initiate any recommended improvements.
Additionally, we regularly invite outside agencies, including the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT), to our safety meetings to reinforce best practices. We’ll also invite railcar manufacturers and other industry experts to explain how products and systems work. Better understanding means greater safety for our employees, the surrounding community and the environment.
Equipment
All necessary equipment is on-site and available for use during an incident or spill, including skimmers and pumps, booms, sorbents, communication equipment, and personal protective equipment. In 2015, Global teamed with Buckeye Partners, LP to donate a state-of-the-art mobile weather station to the Albany County Sheriff’s Office to assist in the event of any incident involving hazardous materials.
Two self-contained, fully-equipped mobile foam trailers are available for fire response within Global’s Albany terminal. Global donated one to the Albany Fire Department for its use. The second is at the terminal. As part of our work with Williams Fire & Hazard Control, we regularly review the terminal’s equipment needs.
Incident response
If an incident were to occur, the terminal operator is trained to assess the incident, respond as appropriate and conduct the notifications specified in the site’s Emergency Response Action Plan.
