Overdrive

December 2014

Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info

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VOICES HOT BUTTONS 12 | Overdrive | December 2014 CG Environmental offers its 24/7 emergency hazmat cleanup response service to municipalities and other K][\WUMZ[NZWUWNÅKM[QV,ITTI[ Ft. Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin. Now, says company head Erick McCallum, CG can add Ebola-related hazmat to its list of challenging jobs. CG was on the front lines in ,ITTI[PI^QVOPIVLTMLIOZMI\LMIT of the early waste from Texas Health Presbyterian, where now-deceased initial U.S. Ebola patient Thomas -ZQK,]VKIV_I[\ZMI\ML When Overdrive spoke to McCal- lum in October, he was hopeful that "we're seeing the end of it coming very soon," and initially it appears his wish was granted. Texas was declared Ebola-free on Nov. 10. McCallum and his crew were re- sponsible for sanitizing and removing \PMMV\QZM\aWNQ\MU[NZWU,]VKIV¼[ apartment. ¹?MLQ[I[[MUJTMLITTWN,]VKIV¼[ apartment into 140 drums in one day – beds, entertainment centers," PM[IQL)TW\WNQ\¹LWM[V¼\Å\QV\W ILZ]U]VTM[[aW]UISMQ\Å\QV\WI drum." CG staff likewise handled some waste hauling, he said, given that "we were under the direction of Homeland Security" to haul it less than 100 miles to a site where drivers from Stericycle, a medical waste incineration and disposal com- pany, took care of the load. Those hazmat-endorsed drivers "weren't touching any of the materials," Mc- Callum said. Asked whether he or others at the company worried about the safety of workers involved in the cleanup, McCallum said no and that he was involved directly in a lot of the hard work. "My guys know that if I won't do it, they won't do it." Hauling Ebola hazmat in Texas +W]Z\M[aWN+,+ BY TODD DILLS As worries of an Ebola outbreak in the United States reached a fever pitch in late October, a large majority of readers indicated support for a blanket ban on travel to the United States from countries where the outbreak was uncontained. Many officials, on up to the president, said that a blanket travel ban would exac- erbate any problems with the current passenger-screening protocol by giving travelers greater incentive to conceal their potential exposure to the virus. SHOULD THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STOP FLIGHTS FROM ENTERING THE U.S. FROM EBOLA-STRICKEN COUNTRIES IN WEST AFRICA? No, but current passenger- screening protocol should be strengthened 14% Yes 86% EBOLA EBOLA This picture shows a CG Environmental move associated with the first infected nurse who had cared for Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian and later contracted the Ebola virus. Equipment used at the Duncan residence included some CG-owned equipment, such as one of its Isuzu box trucks and a small enclosed trailer. "We had to bring in a [53-ft.] enclosed car hauler" to accommodate the drums, said CG's Erick McCallum. CG-affiliated Beard's Towing used primarily roll-back flat wreckers and auto-loaders to move the contaminated autos into shipping containers for interior decontamination. Courtesy of Beard's Towing On Oct. 3, Stericycle was permitted to transport waste, contaminated with Ebola virus, that was packaged utilizing an alternate method. The special permit was issued by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which also published special notices to hazmat handlers.

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