The Renewable Fuels Association has again received grant funding to continue to support its safety education program through on-site seminars and Internet webinars. Both grants were received via the association’s work with TRANSCAER, a voluntary national outreach program that focuses on assisting communities to prepare for and respond to a possible hazardous material transportation incident.

A $25,000 grant from the Federal Railroad Administration will support eight ethanol safety seminars and four “train the trainer” webinars for first responders, and a $40,432 Community Safety Grant from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will fund four Ethanol & Steel Drum Safety seminars in conjunction with the Industrial Steel Drum Institute.

“These federal funds will provide the Renewable Fuels Association with the opportunity to further their training and outreach initiatives to emergency responders in communities across the United States. Through federal grant funding the RFA has already updated their Ethanol Safety Training program, made their ethanol program available online in Spanish, and offered numerous in-person and virtual learning opportunities,” said Erica Bernstein, Director of Outreach, CHEMTREC and TRANSCAER.

“The RFA prioritizes safety in the renewable fuels industry, and we consider it our mission to help and provide the best resources available to our ethanol plants and the emergency response community so they can have safe work environment and keep the communities they support safe,” said Missy Ruff, RFA Director of Safety and Technical Programs. “We appreciate the continued support these grants provide to ensure emergency responders have the resources and practices in this life-saving work in properly responding to ethanol emergencies. We wouldn’t be able to give them the safety resources and training without it.”

In 2022, more than 1,200 attendees were trained via 34 training opportunities supported by RFA. Since its inception in 2010, RFA’s safety program is responsible for training over 15,000 individuals and conducting nearly 400 training sessions and events. For more information on RFA’s work in this area, visit the Ethanol Emergency Response website at www.ethanolresponse.com, where the training programs conducted in the seminars and webinars can be seen.