BOC Gases Selects Spill Center
For Haz-mat Spill Assistance

Acton, Mass.--BOC Gases, one of the world's largest producers
of industrial and specialty gases, with a U.S. distribution fleet of more
than 1,500 power units, has signed an agreement with the Spill Center
to provide nationwide assistance in handling on-road spills of diesel
fuel and other hazardous materials.

The Spill Center, an environmental claims management company,
develops customized spill contingency plans for subscribers, which
include private fleets, for-hire carriers, truck leasing companies, and
chemical and insurance companies, according to Tom Moses,
president. It is also a member service of the American Trucking
Associations' Safety Management Council and the National Private
Truck Council.

Staffed by legal, technical and environmental specialists, the Spill
Center handles regulatory reporting, coordinates spill cleanup efforts
and documents compliance activities related to haz-mat releases.
Other services include monitoring and auditing cleanup activities to
limit a transporter's liability while limiting and controlling spill-
related costs, added Moses, an environmental attorney and former
toxicologist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

BOC Gases operates in more than 50 countries around the world,
supplying customers with compressed industrial, specialty and
medical gases, gas mixtures and gaseous chemicals. Its bulk
distribution fleet includes insulated road tankers designed to
maintain the extremely low temperatures required to handle most
liquified gases. With U.S. headquarters in Murray Hill, N.J., BOC
Gases has had the best fleet safety record of any industrial gases
company for five of the last six years, according to a spokesperson.

"We're proud of our record and consider our safety program to be
second to none in our industry," observed Jim Merriam, BOC Gases
Environmental Affairs Manager. "We have a very comprehensive
emergency response program to handle our products, but we felt we
could benefit from the Spill Center's resources to help us handle
over-the-road spills of diesel fuel and oil," he said.

"Since we cover almost 50 states, it is very difficult to keep up with
all the different regulations and reporting requirements related to
environmental releases. The Spill Center will help us identify qualified
spill cleanup contractors wherever we have an incident on the road,"
added Merriam, who has responsibilities for BOC operations in
North, Central and South America.

"We have relatively few spills in the course of a year, but the Spill
Center deals with these incidents every day -- 24 hours a day, seven
days a week. They are knowledgeable about who to deal with and
what it should cost to handle spills anywhere in the country," added
Merriam. "I expect them to save us a lot of time and effort in
managing any spills that might occur in our transportation operations."

Formed in 1990, the Spill Center maintains a comprehensive database
of cleanup contractors throughout the U.S. and Canada, along with
up-to-date listings of federal, state and local reporting requirements
and contacts. Spill documentation is provided to minimize the
possibility of fines and third-party claims and help subscribers maintain
a legally defensible position, Moses explained.

"We have created and maintain a conduit for coordinating spill cleanup,
spill reporting and claims management. One phone call to our toll-free
hotline -- any time, night or day -- activates the subscriber's
contingency plan and gets our people started on gathering and
processing the information to manage the incident. The decision making
always remains with the subscriber company, but the Spill Center
eliminates the headaches and wasted time related to information
gathering, processing and storage," he added.

Moses feels that the addition of BOC Gases to the Spill Center's
roster of subscribers helps position the company to expand
internationally. "BOC and other global companies that contract for
Spill Center services have the potential of being our stepping stone
to the worldwide emergency response and environmental claims
management business," he commented. "The Spill Center has the
systems and the expertise; now we need the business partners to
implement our programs globally."

The Chemical Manufacturers Association, recognized around the
world as a leading authority on hazardous materials in transportation,
recently formalized an agreement with the Spill Center to provide its
members with round-the-clock cleanup contractor referrals and
assistance with haz-mat releases. A group registration program is
available through the Chemical Transportation Emergency Center,
CHEMTREC® in Arlington, Va.

For more information about environmental claims management
services, contact the Spill Center at 100 Powdermill Road, Suite
323, Acton MA 01720.
  Tel. (978) 897-6461
  Fax (978) 897-9163
Visit the Spill Center website at www.spillcenter.com.


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