Trains and Hazmat Transport

By Information

In the United States, trains transport everything from people to manufactured items, lumber, metals, and fossil fuels. But what we usually don’t think about is the transport of hazardous materials. Trains carry flammable, corrosive, and toxic substances, such as gasoline, acid, and radioactive materials. However, these materials are transported by rail safely every day.
What is being transported?
Hazardous materials are defined as “a substance or material which the Secretary of Transportation has determined to be capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce.” (United States Hazardous Materials Instructions for Rail, June 2008).

(Pictures to come later)

Container safety
One way that hazardous materials can be transported safely is through “transportation packaging” which includes:
•Labeling – Proper labeling must be present on both sides of the train car.
•Thickness – Various hazardous materials require differing thicknesses .
•Lining – There should be proper lining which is in good condition.
•Attachment – Make sure that all cars are attached properly.
•Positioning – Cars must be placed strategically in the line of cars.
•Emergency procedures – Safety is the number one priority, get to a safe distance and get upwind, stay out of ditches and low lying areas, and make sure they are no ignition sources.

Routing Hazardous Materials
Since an accident involving these hazardous materials could potentially be a disaster, hazardous materials are not allowed to be within 2.2 miles of Washington D.C.
A new idea for increasing safe routing uses “route rationalization”
(Kawprasert & Barkan 08-2801 p.4)


FIGURE 1: Simple transportation network for a hazardous material
A) without route rationalization, and B) with route rationalization
In the simple example illustrated in Figure 1b, material produced at X is consumed at X rather than being shipped to Y, and similarly, material produced at Y is consumed at Y. In addition, material produced at X and consumed at Z is instead supplied from Y because it is closer (Kawprasert & Barkan 08-2801 p.4).

Safety history of hazardous materials transport.
There has been 8,410 train incidents involving hazardous materials in the last ten years. This may seem like a lot, but of the 8,410 incidents, there has only been 1,121 injuries and 18 fatalities. Often the injuries and fatalities are from the accident itself, and not due to the hazardous materials.
Sources:
Love, June. (2002). Database Transportation: Trains. Broomall, PA: Chelsea House.

Kawprasert, Athaphon & Barkan, Christopher. (2007). Reducing the Risk of Rail Transport of Hazardous Materials by Route Rationalization. Submitted for presentation at the 87th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board and publication in Transportation Research Record. Retreived July 16, 2009 from University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana website: http://ict.illinois.edu/railroad/CEE/pdf/Kawprasert%20&%20Barkan%20TRB%2008-2801%20Rev9.pd

(2009 ). Hazardous materials information system serious incidents*. Retrieved July 16, 2009, from PHMSA Web site: http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/PHMSA/DownloadableFiles/Files/tenyr_orig_serious.pdf
Fire Prevention Program. Retrieved July 16, 2009, from Safety Info Web site: http://www.safetyinfo.com/guests/Program%20-%20Fire%20Prevention.htm
(2009). Cargo. Retrieved July 16, 2009, from Wikipedia Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo#Freight_train
Hazmat/environmental protections. Retrieved July 16, 2009, Web site: www.dcfp.navy.mil/mc/presentations/DCASE7-15.ppt