Hazardous Materials: Improving the Safety of Railroad Tank Car Transportation of Hazardous Materials

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

Hazardous Materials: Improving the Safety of Railroad Tank Car

Transportation of Hazardous Materials

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA),

DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: PHMSA and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) invite

interested persons to participate in a public meeting to address the

safe transportation of hazardous materials in railroad tank cars. PHMSA

and FRA are initiating a comprehensive review of design and operational

factors that affect rail tank car safety.

DATES: Public meeting: May 31-June 1, 2006, starting at 9 a.m. and

ending at 5 p.m. both days.

ADDRESS: Public meeting: The Hotel George, 15 E Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20001.

Oral presentations: Any person wishing to present an oral statement

should notify Lucinda Henriksen, by telephone, e-mail, or in writing,

at least four business days before the date of the public meeting. Oral

statements will be limited to 15 minutes. For information on facilities

or services for persons with disabilities or to request special

assistance at the meetings, contact Ms. Henriksen by telephone or e-

mail as soon as possible.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lucinda Henriksen

([email protected]), Trial Attorney, Office of Chief Counsel,

Federal Railroad Administration, 1120 Vermont Ave., NW., Washington, DC

20590 (202-493-1345) or William S. Schoonover

([email protected]), Staff Director, Hazardous Materials

Division, Federal Railroad Administration, 1120 Vermont Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC 20590, (202-493-6050).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Federal hazardous materials

transportation law (Federal hazmat law, 49 U.S.C. 5101 et seq., as

amended by section 1711 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public

Law 107-296 and Title VII of the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible and

Efficient Transportation Equity Act--A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU))

authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Transportation to

``prescribe regulations for the safe transportation, including

security, of hazardous material in intrastate, interstate, and foreign

commerce.'' The Secretary has delegated this authority to the Pipeline

and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

The Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR: 49 CFR parts 171-180)

promulgated by PHMSA under the mandate in section 5103(b) govern safety

aspects, including security, of the transportation of hazardous

material the Secretary considers appropriate. The Hazardous Materials

Regulations--or HMR--are designed to achieve three goals:

(1) To ensure that hazardous materials are packaged and handled

safely during transportation;

(2) To provide effective communication to transportation workers

and emergency responders of the hazards of the materials being

transported; and

(3) To minimize the consequences of an incident should one occur.

The hazardous material regulatory system is a risk management

system that is prevention-oriented and focused on identifying a safety

or security hazard and reducing the probability and quantity of a

hazardous material release. We collect and analyze data on hazardous

materials--incidents, regulatory actions, and enforcement activity--to

determine the safety and security risks associated with the

transportation of hazardous materials and the best ways to mitigate

those risks. Under the HMR, hazardous materials are categorized by

analysis and experience into hazard classes and packing groups based

upon the risks they present during transportation. The HMR specify

appropriate packaging and handling requirements for hazardous

materials, and require a shipper to communicate the material's hazards

through use of shipping papers, package marking and labeling, and

vehicle placarding. The HMR also require shippers to provide emergency

response information applicable to the specific hazard or hazards of

the material being transported. Finally, the HMR mandate training

requirements for persons who prepare hazardous materials for shipment

or who transport hazardous materials in commerce. The HMR also include

operational requirements applicable to each mode of transportation.

The Secretary of Transportation also has authority over all areas

of railroad

[[Page 30020]]

safety (49 U.S.C. 20101 et seq.), and has delegated this authority to

FRA. FRA has issued a comprehensive set of Federal regulations

governing the safety of all facets of freight and passenger railroad

operations (49 CFR parts 200-244). FRA inspects railroads and shippers

for compliance with both FRA and PHMSA regulations. FRA also conducts

research and development to enhance railroad safety.

Railroads carry over 1.7 million shipments of hazardous materials

annually, including millions of tons of explosive, poisonous,

corrosive, flammable and radioactive materials. The need for hazardous

materials to support essential services means transportation of highly

hazardous materials is unavoidable. However, these shipments frequently

move through densely populated or environmentally sensitive areas where

the consequences of an incident could be loss of life, serious injury,

or significant environmental damage.

In the last several years, there have been a number of rail tank

car accidents in which the car was breached and product lost on the

ground or into the atmosphere. Of particular concern have been

accidents involving materials that are poisonous, or toxic, by

inhalation (TIH materials). For example, on January 18, 2002, in Minot,

ND, one person was killed and 11 more were seriously injured when a

Canadian Pacific Railway train derailed. Five tank cars carrying

anhydrous ammonia catastrophically ruptured, and a vapor plume covered

the derailment site and surrounding area. On June 28, 2004, in Macdona,

TX, three people were killed and 41 were seriously injured when a Union

Pacific freight train struck a BNSF freight train. The collision

resulted in the breach of a tank car and a release of chlorine, a

poisonous gas. Property damage and environmental clean-up costs

exceeded $7 million. On January 6, 2005, in Graniteville, SC, nine

people were killed and about 75 were seriously injured when Norfolk

Southern Railway train collided with a standing train, and a tank car

carrying chlorine was breached. Total damages exceed $6.9 million. In

each of these incidents, the primary causative factor was railroad

operations, a failed tank structure, or a combination of the two. Only

with a full understanding of what happened can the necessary steps for

prevention and mitigation be identified and implemented.

PHMSA and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) are initiating

a comprehensive review of design and operational factors that affect

rail tank car safety. The two agencies will utilize a risk management

approach to identify ways to enhance the safe transportation of

hazardous materials in tank cars, including tank car design,

manufacture, and requalification; operational issues such as human

factors, track conditions and maintenance, wayside hazard detectors,

and signals and train control systems; and emergency response. The

review will not consider security issues. PHMSA and FRA have been

working closely with the Transportation Security Administration on

developing proposed regulations to enhance the security of rail

shipments of hazardous materials; these regulatory proposals should be

issued for public comment in the near future.

The public safety meeting now scheduled for May 31-June 1 is

intended to kick-off the public involvement in this on-going effort

within the Department. PHMSA and FRA are primarily looking to this

meeting to surface issues and prioritize them. In addition, PHMSA and

FRA will discuss the need for additional public forums and their time

and place. Persons wishing to make statements will be afforded an

opportunity to do so and a transcript--to be made available to the

public--will be taken.

Issued in Washington, DC on May 18, 2006, under authority

delegated in 49 CFR part 106.

Robert A. McGuire,

Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety.

FR Doc. E6-7863 Filed 5-23-06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-60-P