Just before 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Feb. 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, about a quarter-mile west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line. Twenty of the affected cars contained hazardous materials like vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol, ethylhexyl acrylate, butyl acrylate and isobutylene.
Some cars caught fire while others spilled their load into a nearby ditch that feeds Sulphur Run, a stream that joins Leslie Run and eventually empties into the Ohio River.
When it comes to hazardous waste, customers -- and especially the Environmental Protection Agency -- want a specialist. That's where Vickery Transportation comes in. "We moved some of that hazardous water and rain-collection hazardous water out of there," said Tony Shinn, Grammer Logistics vice president of operations.
Based in Columbus, Indiana, Vickery Transportation, a subsidiary of Grammer Industries, provides hazmat services from upwards of 250 points of origin all over the midwest, northeast and southeast, and brings it all back to a Waste Management deep-well injection site.
19-truck Vickery Transportation hauls hazardous waste in fiberglass-reinforced Comptank trailers with vacuum pumps.
While not necessarily a specialist in train derailment, Vickery Transportation is one of the front-line carriers for Waste Management, the largest waste services provider in the U.S. "It's mostly water and acids," said Shinn. "It's not necessarily always hazardous to people. You could touch it with your hand and it wouldn't hurt you, but it's more an environmental hazard."
Grammar Logistics has approximately 500 drivers all over the country, but Vickery Transportation, the in-house carrier for Waste Management, lays claim to 19 and three support employees: a terminal manager, a terminal coordinator and a part-time material handling consultant. Vickery's one of five semi-finalists for Overdrive's Small Fleet Championship, in the 11-30-truck division.
