Page 33 - Port of Baltimore Magazine Jan/Feb 2013
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STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATHY BERGREN SMITH
January/February 2013
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The Port of Baltimore
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around the pristine facility. “Westway is a verified member of
the American Chemical Council’s Responsible Care Partnership
Program. Valued stakeholders include everyone involved with or
affected by Westway’s processes or actions.”
Mitchell explained that the liquids stored in the tanks are a
diverse group of products, each with their own characteristics.
The storage mix of products includes, but is not limited to,
molasses, caustic soda solution, fertilizers and oils. The terminal
can handle most liquid cargoes, but Mitchell noted that Westway
must constantly keep in mind the different characteristics of
each product, ranging from weights and freezing points to boiling
points and heating requirements, just to name a few. For example,
molasses has unique pumping requirements; too much heat will
cause the product to char or crystallize, yet too little heat will not
allow movement of the product at all.
“Our systems are designed to mitigate the potential of releases,
eliminate cross contaminations and contain or divert spilled
products in order to minimize any impacts on the environment,”
Mitchell said.
An Army veteran who served in Operation Desert Storm,
Mitchell finds managing the terminal very similar to a field
operation — both require working with “a small unit designed to
handle a myriad of responsibilities.” Westway’s nine Baltimore
employees are all cross-trained in each job at the location, have
hazardous materials training and enjoy the outdoors atmosphere
of the Port. “Our turnover rate is almost nonexistent,” Mitchell said.
“Our personnel enjoy the working atmosphere Westway and the
Port of Baltimore provides, thus they tend to stay around awhile.”
Mitchell’s primary concerns are the safety of Westway’s
employees, contractors and local vendors, as well as customer
service. He is proud to say that the facility has been operating
more than 2,100 days without an OSHA-recordable injury incident.
“This accomplishment is a tremendous milestone for the company
and a testament to the employee contribution and ownership of
safety throughout the Baltimore facility,” Mitchell said.
Steve Fischer, the senior product handler on Mitchell’s team
since 2000, added that, when working with liquid cargoes, “You
have to be a little bit of a chemist to work here. We are learning
all the time and need to stay on our toes.”
Westway is preparing to partner with its neighbor, Under
Armour, to apply murals on some of the storage tanks along Hull
Street. It will be a champion honorarium highlighting several
Maryland sports figures.
Back in 2004, Mitchell had all terminal-related truck traffic
transit through the Port of Baltimore’s North Locust Point terminal
to keep it off residential streets. Furthermore, although the
terminal can operate 24 hours a day, there is little sound from
the liquids pumping. As such, the tank murals could become the
first time some people really notice the Westway terminal at North
Locust Point.
As Mitchell explained, “If you don’t know we are here, we are
doing our job”.
Westway Terminals At-A-Glance
Terminal Capacity:
18,824,586 Gallons
Number of Tanks:
15
Range Tanks:
854,759 – 2,973,400 Gallons
Modes Served:
Tanker, Barge, Rail, Truck
Rail Service:
CSX
Commodities Handled:
Acids, Agricultural Products,
Molasses Products, Chemicals
Westway Terminal
Manager John Mitchell
oversaw the handling
of approximately
398,000 tons of liquid
last year in Baltimore.
