POWER OF TRANSLOADING:
FASTER CLEANUPS MEAN TAXPAYERS SAVE
by Dennis D. Morgan, II

MHF Logistical Solutions utilizes a national network of transload facilities where every working day we move packaged and bulk materials between truck and rail. We also build temporary transload facilities to serve specific projects (including those involving marine conveyance), when and where our clients need them.

The type of cargo we typically move includes low-level radioactive, hazardous and non-hazardous waste and materials.

The ability to transload those materials means that we can customize transportation and packaging solutions that can accelerate project completion schedules while also enhancing public safety. And we can do that often at reduced costs to material generators, shippers and, by extension, the taxpayer.

Loaded and tarped intermodal containers at the Li Tungsten site, ready for transport to transload facility in New Jersey. The materials from Li Tungsten are then unloaded into gondola railcars.

Case in point: our extensive work at the Li Tungsten Superfund site in Glen Cove, New York.

The 20-acre site on Long Island is split into two properties. The first was once home to a tungsten refinery where tungsten ores were processed to produce tungsten carbide wire, tungsten wire and welding rods for both industrial and military uses. The second is former local landfill called Captains Cove.

Once the site is cleaned up, the property is slated to be developed into a high-end mixed commercial and residential complex. But first the legacy of the refinery activity - including contaminated soils and debris - has to be packaged and removed.

That's where we come in.

We were awarded a subcontract through competitive bidding from Conti Environment & Infrastructure, Inc., contractor to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the second assignment we've earned at the project. The current ongoing phase is to package and transport approximately 76,000 tons of low-level radioactive waste from the site to a final disposal facility in Idaho.

Workers closing Super Load WrappersTM (which we manufacture) prior to shipment.

We were contracted to move approximately 600 tons per day, which fills about six gondola railcars. We're working to increase our daily production to 700 tons per day. And we're doing that despite the added complexities of transportation in the highly congested New York City area.

Here's how the cycle works. During the day, Conti employees fill intermodal containers that we are supplying and that are outfitted with intermodal liners from our packaging unit. Once the intermodal containers are filled, they are transported to an on-site staging area, where each container is surveyed. An MHF-LS shipper is assigned to the project site to complete all shipping documents.

Then, every working night, six to twelve trucks belonging to our subcontractor pick up the loaded intermodal containers and deliver them to a transload facility in New Jersey. They pick up an empty intermodal container, return to Long Island and repeat the cycle. Approximately 35 roundtrip truck trips are done per day.

At the transload facility, the containers are emptied directly into gondola railcars (part of our private fleet of equipment), each of which is lined with a Super Load Wrapper (SLW). The SLW is an 18-mil thick burrito-style railcar liner manufactured and supplied by our packaging company.

Once the railcars are ready for shipment, they are transported to Idaho, where they are unloaded and moved by truck to the USACE-designated landfill.

So where are the savings for the EPA's contractor and, ultimately, the taxpayer?

Gondola railcars loaded for trip to the final disposal site in Idaho. Our ability to transload materials between truck and rail saves shippers, generators and taxpayers unnecessary expense.

It's simple math. A railcar holds about five times more materials as a truck does and operates much more fuel efficiently. So by not having to use trucks for the entire 2,400 mile distance between Long Island and Idaho, we're helping to eliminate hugely wasteful and unnecessary fuel and handling costs, not to mention highway congestion. And because of our ability to package the materials safely just once and then seamlessly transload them from origination to disposal, we're enhancing safety for workers and the public.

In a few years, the Li Tungsten site will be completely cleaned up, businesses will be operating and families will be living there, contributing to a better quality of life for the surrounding community.

Through our unique ability to integrate packaging, equipment, technical knowledge and transportation prowess - not to mention our transload capabilities - we will have played a big part in making that happen.

Dennis D. Morgan, II is a business development manager for MHF Logistical Solutions. You can reach him at 724.772.9800, ext. 7498 or via e-mail to dennis_morgan@mhfls.com.