Following the hazmat trail: the rail industry is keeping a watchful eye on hazardous material shipments to protect them against potential terrorist strikes. Tracking and tracing is a powerful tool, which some may take a step further for added security

Railway Age, Sept, 2004 by Marybeth Luczak

Freight railroads don't offer terrorists high densities of rider targets, but they carry 1.7 million carloads of hazardous materials each year that could be used as weapons of mass destruction. While some 99.99% reach their final destinations without release caused by accidents, there is still widespread concern about security, following the Sept. 11 attacks and the Madrid train bombings.

Many government officials have supported regulating hazmat conveyance. Last October, Washington, D.C., Councilwomen Kathy Patterson introduced legislation that would require hazmat shippers to obtain a permit and follow certain rules and travel times through Washington, D.C. More recently, a bill sponsored by Pep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) would direct the Department of Homeland Security to order additional physical security, measures, shipment pre-notification, development of a terrorist attack response plan, and rerouting of certain hazmat shipments. And prior to recessing last month, a comprehensive rail security, bill was introduced by Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.), authorizing $500 million for freight and passenger rail security improvements, $100 million for rail security research and development, and $5 million for a vulnerability assessment of freight and passenger rail transportation. The measure would, among other things, require carriers transporting hazmat to make information "immediately available to local emergency responders" through Operation Respond or similar technology.

A chlorine gas leak near San Antonio earlier this year illustrates the danger these materials pose: One mile away from the train accident scene, a mother and daughter died in their home from fume inhalation, as did a train conductor. However, this accident is only one of three involving chorine tank cars in the last 90 years that resulted in fatalities, according to the Chlorine Institute (CI). And that's what railoads want the public to understand.

Rail is the safest mode of hazmat transport--posing 16 times less of an accident risk than trucks. The tank cars used to haul these commodities are specially designed to minimize possible release, undergo rigorous quality assurance programs and field testing, and fall under stringent U.S. Department of Transportation specifications. Training for emergency responders and employees handling hazmat and its transport is comprehensive. DOT's Research and Special Programs Administration requires in depth security training requirements for hazmat handlers.

Shortly after 9/11, rail carriers implemented a Terrorism Risk Analysis and Security Management Plan in which they evaluated the potential impacts of terrorist attacks on and vulnerabilities to the industry. As a result, they developed a set of actions to be applied based on industry threat level, according to Robert Fronczak, assistant vice president-environment and hazmat for the Association of American Railroads. "At the current railroad threat level, the rail roads have 54 actions in place to deter terrorist activity," he says. "One of these actions is the implementation of the Railroad Alert Network, a 24/7 communications center that allows us to share intelligence from government sources with our members and vice versa. We have 200,000 railroad employees working, and any suspicious activity is reported and relayed to the appropriate persons (including the government, if regulation is enacted). As the threat level rises, there are an additional 59 action items that the railroads will implement." A significant number of those actions deal with "making sure that we continue our record of safe hazmat transport," adds Skip Elliott, assistant vice president-public safety and environment at CSX Transportation.

The railroad industry security plan and the programs adopted by the chemical industry have been highly coordinated, says CI Vice President Storage and Transport Michael Lyden. The association's rail plan includes a comprehensive series of technological and personal training measures. According to Lyden, all employees handling hazmat during transportation participate in government and industry safety training, and handlers of chlorine containers (including rail) have conducted security vulnerability assessments, developed site-specific security plans, and periodically verify and update company programs. In addition, facilities have increased security around shipments.

On the hazmat trail

Tracking and tracing hazmat is one line of defense that allows railroads to identify its location throughout the network. Class I's and many small roads already have Automatic Equipment Identification (AEI) systems in place for this purpose. Strategically placed readers automatically capture such events as arrivals, departures, and interchanges. The information is relayed to railroad computer systems, and can be viewed online or sent via EDI (electronic data interchange) to a shipper's own system. Authorized rail personnel and intermodal or carload shippers simply enter a single car number, fleet of numbers, or unique shipment numbers into a rail carrier's e-business site to determine where their products are en route (even if the products transfer to another rail carrier's line). Multiple deliveries over several rail lines can be traced through Railinc's Steelroads.tom website, which provides car location and status information from more than 400 railroads.