Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
2statements recommending research needs for consid- eration by the Technical Oversight Panel are solicited annually, but may be submitted to TRB at any time. See HMCRP website at www.TRB.org/HMCRP. INTRODUCTION The safety, security, and environmental concerns associated with transportation of hazardous materials are growing in number and complexity. Hazardous materials are substances that are flammable, explo- sive, or toxic, or that, if released, produce effects that would threaten human safety, health, the environ- ment, or property. Hazardous materials are moved throughout the country by all modes of freight trans- portation, including pipelines, ships, trucks, trains, and airplanes. Hazardous shipments vary in size and type, from small parcels containing a few ounces of infectious or radioactive substances, to barges and railroad tank cars carrying tons of flammable, toxic, and corrosive materials. The freight transportation and chemical indus- tries, government regulatory and enforcement agen- cies at the federal and state levels, and local emer- gency planners and responders routinely share information, resources, and expertise. Nonetheless, a longstanding gap in the system for ensuring haz- ardous materials safety and security occurs in the con- duct of research. Industry organizations and govern- ment agencies have their own research programs to support their mission needs. Collaborative research to address shared problems takes place occasionally, but most occurs on an ad hoc basis. Acknowledging this gap, the U.S. DOT Office of Hazardous Materials Safety, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the U.S. Coast Guard pooled their resources for a study. Under the auspices of TRB, the National Research Council appointed a committee to examine the feasibility of creating a cooperative research program for hazardous materials transporta- tion, similar in concept to the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) and the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP). The committee concluded, in TRB Special Report 283: Cooperative Research for Hazardous Materials Transportation: Defining the Need, Converging on Solutions, that the need for cooperative research in this field is significant and growing and offered ideas on establishing an ongoing program of coop- erative research. Based in part on the findings of that report, the Congress authorized PHMSA to contract with the National Academy of Sciences to carry out the research discussed in TRB Special Report 283. THE HMCRP On September 1, 2006, PHMSA awarded a contract to the National Academies to initiate the HMCRP. The HMCRP is managed using procedures modeled after those used by TRB in managing the National Cooperative Highway Research Program and other cooperative research programs. TRB solic- its potential research problem statements from all par- ties. The HMCRP Technical Oversight Panel selects and prioritizes these research needs based on the funding available. Each selected project is assigned to a panel, appointed by TRB, which provides technical guidance and counsel throughout the life of the proj- ect. Heavy emphasis is placed on including members representing the intended users of the research prod- ucts. The panels prepare requests for proposals and select contractors, guide the projects, and review reports. Day-to-day program management is provided by HMCRP staff and includes the following tasks: ⢠Assisting the Technical Oversight Panel in identifying and prioritizing research needs; ⢠Appointing and coordinating expert technical panels to guide research projects; ⢠Developing and distributing Requests for Pro- posals (RFPs); ⢠Processing and evaluating proposals to select the best qualified research agencies; ⢠Executing contracts with the selected researchers; ⢠Guiding the research; ⢠Reviewing research reports; ⢠Publishing and disseminating research reports; and ⢠Promoting the application of research results.
