|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
U.S. Response: New Permits Proposed for Shipping Hazardous Material By Mike Nartker Under the proposal, motor carriers would have to obtain a safety permit to transport four types of cargo — more than 55 pounds of certain types of explosives; more than a quart of hazardous material deemed to be toxic if inhaled; more than 3,500 gallons of liquefied natural gas; and highway route-controlled quantities of controlled radioactive materials, considered to be a quantity of material that emits high levels of radioactivity. The safety permit, which would be valid for two years, would be required to be carried in the vehicle transporting designated hazardous material. In addition to the safety permit, shipments of radioactive materials would also be required to be preinspected by a government official and require a written transportation route plan, according to a notice published Tuesday in the Federal Register. Drivers would be required to communicate with the carrier once every two hours and at any time they deviated from the route plan. “Hazmat cargo represents a large segment of the freight being transported daily across America, and the department is committed to ensuring its integrity and security,” Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said in a press release. The safety administration proposal calls for the safety permit requirement to be phased in beginning Jan. 1, 2005. To obtain a permit, motor carriers would first have to have a satisfactory rating assigned by the safety administration and a satisfactory security program, which includes a security plan, communications equipment installed in vehicles used to transport hazardous materials and security training for all hazardous materials employees. In addition, motor carriers will also be required to register with Transportation’s Research and Special Programs Administration. If a motor carrier has already obtained a safety permit from a state under a program equivalent to the transportation proposal, then they will automatically be granted a permit. Safety permits can be revoked for several reasons, including failure to maintain a satisfactory rating or failure to abide by hazardous material regulations. The permit can also be revoked upon failure to pay a civil penalty. The safety administration has estimated that it will cost about $75 million over the next 10 years to implement the safety program, according to the Federal Register notice. In addition, the agency has estimated that the new safety permit system will be “decisive” in stopping 1 in 1000 terrorist incidents involving hazardous material shipments and will make each attempted incident “less likely to inflict its intended damages,” the notice says. While a 1 in 1000 chance of stopping a terrorist incident may seem low, it is actually a “fairly good probability,” administration spokesman Andy Black told Global Security Newswire yesterday, estimating that there are 800,000 hazardous material shipments per day. Industry experts also agreed that the proposal’s probable rate of preventing a terrorist incident was positive. Jack Legler, director of the American Trucking Association’s Trucking and Security Operations, told GSN yesterday that he believed the odds of stopping an incident with the proposed system were “pretty darn good.” The safety administration is seeking public comment on the proposed safety permit system until Oct. 20.
| ||||||||||
Back to top
