COLUMBUS -
said Rob Marvin, transportation director for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which inspects trucks and trucking companies.
He said the state is doing a good job of getting cargo companies to follow the regulations on carrying hazardous chemicals.
He said heavy truck traffic crossing Ohio is mostly to blame for the spills. The Ohio Department of Transportation said the state has the fifth-highest volume of truck traffic in the United States.
This is the last category Ohio wants to be a leader in said Jack Shaner, a spokesman for the Ohio Environmental Council.
This is why we need strong safeguards and why we need to enforce them vigorously he said. No one would want a hazardous material percolating into their well or under the school playground or in the nearby stream.
Last year, FedEx Ground had 484 highway spills, nearly half of the total number of highway spills and nearly 400 more than Yellow Freight System, the second-ranking company.
FedEx Ground spokeswoman Allison Sobczak said the high number of spills was partly due to the company's high volume of traffic. FedEx Ground has 10 hubs in Ohio.
We certainly take safety very seriously
she said. I think that the number represents we're reporting every one of the spills.
Federal law requires that companies report all spills. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency requires notification of spills involving at least 25 gallons.
There were no reported spills in Ohio's waterways last year and 34 railway spills.
Airborne Express was responsible for 63 spills -
she said. Customers don't always package the materials as they should.
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