Cooperative Research for Hazardous Materials Transportation Defining the Need, Converging on Solutions -- Special Report 283 (2005) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
2 Overview of Hazardous Materials Transportation
2 Overview of Hazardous Materials Transportation
Pages 17-41
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 17... ...
Coast Guard. Statistics for pipelines and tankers are not reviewed here, although it is recognized that these modes may participate in cooperative research on hazardous materials transportation.
|
From page 18... ...
Since then, the amount of freight shipped in the United States has increased by roughly 5 percent, which suggests that annual hazardous materials shipments today are on the order of 2.1 billion tons.2 2 According to the Census Bureau's 2002 Commodity Flow Survey preliminary report, 11.6 billion tons of freight was shipped in 2002, an increase of 4.4 percent from 1997 estimates (Census Bureau 2003, 14, 15; Census Bureau 1999)
|
From page 19... ...
Gasoline and other petroleum products are estimated to account for about 40 percent of all hazardous materials shipments and about three-quarters of the tonnage shipped (RSPA 1998, 1)
|
From page 20... ...
On average, the highways have the largest number of shipments, the waterways have the heaviest ship ments, and the railroads move shipments over the longest distances. As a result of these modal differences, these three major modes of haz ardous materials transportation each account for about one-third of ton-miles shipped, while the share by air transport (as would be expected)
|
From page 21... ...
Gasoline, diesel, and home heating fuel are the most common hazardous cargoes moved in tank trucks. About 125 commodities account for 90 percent of ship ments moved by railroad tank car, but 6 of these -- liquefied petroleum gas, caustic soda, sulfuric acid, anhydrous ammonia, chlorine, and fuel oil -- account for more than half of tank car shipments (AAR 2002)
|
From page 22... ...
Shippers of smaller quantities of hazardous materials include hospitals, small manufacturers, and residential suppliers of home heating fuel. Between the time a hazardous materials shipment leaves its place of origin and arrives at its final destination, it may pass through several modes of transportation and transfer points.
|
From page 23... ...
Tank trucks delivered gasoline and home heating fuel, steel tank cars were outfitted to carry dozens of petroleum products and chemicals, and steam-powered tankers and barges were carrying such cargoes on the inland and coastal waterways.
|
From page 24... ...
The accidents generated public attention and calls for more concerted federal involvement in the safety process. In 1970, Con gress passed the Hazardous Materials Transportation Control Act, which required DOT to collect information about hazardous materials inci dents across all of the modes and to report annually on the activities and accomplishments of the various regulatory agencies responsible for safety in each mode.
|
From page 25... ...
In recent years, however, the elevation of other risk concerns, such as security and environmen tal harm, has expanded and complicated the role of the federal govern ment in controlling the risks associated with hazardous materials transportation. Safety Performance Since passage of HMTA in 1974, federal law has defined a hazardous materials transportation incident as an unintentional release of a haz ardous material from its package during transportation, which includes periods of loading and unloading and storage incidental to transporta tion.
|
From page 26... ...
maintains the Motor Carrier Management Information System, and USCG maintains the Marine Casualty and Pollution Database. However, RSPA's HMIS is the most widely used source of data on hazardous materials incidents.
|
From page 27... ...
. Ever since DOT has required the reporting of hazardous materials incidents, questions have arisen concerning the accuracy, completeness, and relevance of the data.
|
From page 28... ...
Because such major incidents are rare, they stand out and tend to dominate the safety data when they do occur. Major hazardous materials incidents are usually investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
|
From page 29... ...
During the past 3 years, DOT and industry have taken a num ber of steps to enhance the security of hazardous materials transportation. These steps include the development of guidelines to improve security awareness in the hiring of personnel, the conduct of on-site security reviews targeting shippers and carriers of very hazardous materials, and the evaluation of common hazardous materials routes from a security perspective.
|
From page 30... ...
This regulatory authority not only covers transportation activity directly but also extends to the handling, labeling, and packaging of hazardous materials by shippers and to the fabrication, reconditioning, repair, and testing of shipping containers. The secretary has delegated the lead responsibility for developing the regulations to RSPA and its Office of Hazardous Materials Safety.
|
From page 31... ...
In contrast, FMCSA has only a handful of inspec tors, because it has arranged for states to assist with motor carrier inspec tion and enforcement activities. The agency has helped in the training of state inspectors to familiarize them with federal hazardous materials regulation.
|
From page 32... ...
As noted earlier, NTSB conducts independent investigations of haz ardous materials transportation accidents to determine probable causes and recommends corrective measures to DOT, other government agen cies, and industry. Although NTSB does not have enforcement or regulatory authority, it monitors the actions taken in response to its recommendations, submits comments to DOT and other federal agen cies on rulemakings, and testifies before Congress on matters related to hazardous materials transportation safety.
|
From page 33... ...
. NRT consists of 16 federal agencies with interests and expertise in vari ous aspects of emergency response to hazardous materials incidents.
|
From page 34... ...
. However, they have limited authority to impose permits and fees for hazardous materials transportation or to adopt hazardous materials regulations that differ from those of the federal government.
|
From page 35... ...
Industry Roles The safety of hazardous materials transportation hinges on shippers and carriers fulfilling their respective roles. The role of shippers is especially important.
|
From page 36... ...
Consequently, most shippers of large quantities of hazardous materials have active safety programs to monitor the condition of the vehicles and containers that carry their products and to ensure that they are securely loaded and readied for transport. Most DOT rules pertaining to hazardous materials transportation are directed toward shippers, which are responsible for ensuring that ship ments are properly classified, named, packaged, marked, and labeled.
|
From page 37... ...
Supported by shippers, carriers, and their trade associations, TRANSCAER promotes transportation safety by assisting communities in preparing for and responding to hazardous materials transportation incidents.5 These efforts include assisting local communities with emergency response training and planning, participating in exercises to test the plans, and main taining a dialogue with state and local authorities to keep emergency contacts and plans current. Another means by which industry cooperates in the promotion of hazardous materials safety is through the Dangerous Goods Advisory Council (DGAC)
|
From page 38... ...
BOX 2-1 Entities Involved in Ensuring the Safe and Secure Transportation of Hazardous Materials FEDERAL: REGULATION, ENFORCEMENT, AND RESEARCH Department of Transportation Research and Special Programs Administrationa Federal Railroad Administration Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Federal Aviation Administration Federal Highway Administration Bureau of Transportation Statistics National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Department of Homeland Security United States Coast Guard Transportation Security Administration Bureau of Customs and Border Protection Federal Emergency Management Agency
|
From page 39... ...
Shippers (about 45,000 regular; about 30,000 occasional) Receivers: farms, disposal sites, refineries, factories, retailers, hospitals INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS: STANDARDS, TRAINING, AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE Dangerous Goods Advisory Council (continued on next page)
|
From page 40... ...
REFERENCES Abbreviations AAR Association of American Railroads NTSB National Transportation Safety Board RSPA Research and Special Programs Administration TRB Transportation Research Board USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers AAR.
|
From page 41... ...
1999. 1997 Economic Census: Hazardous Materials Transportation Commodity Flow Survey.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.