Rail Safety Megathread. Updated December 23, 2024

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79. Feds urge railroads to review sharing of hazardous shipment information

TRANSPORTATION

Feds urge railroads to review sharing of hazardous shipment information

A Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration advisory seeks to address a concern after the East Palestine derailment

By Ian Duncan
March 3, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. EST

The federal hazardous materials safety agency called on railroads Friday to review how they share information about dangerous shipments with local communities, saying it was concerned that some crews responding to the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, might not have had access to a key data sharing app.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration laid out the steps it wants railroads to take in a formal safety advisory, the third that federal transportation agencies have issued this week. The advisories do not have the force of law, but are part of an effort by the government to improve safety in response to the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment and subsequent chemical spill.

Since 2014, railroads have shared information with emergency responders through an app called AskRail. It is designed to quickly provide information about hazardous shipments so fire departments and other agencies can respond safely. The advisory calls on railroads to review access to the app to ensure adequate availability, publicize the app’s existence and provide training on how to use it.

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The new federal safety advisory urges railroads to review their existing emergency response plans. It calls on them to share the plans with local officials, including information on what sorts of chemicals are being shipped through their communities, and to take part in drills. ... “Plans are most effective when they are shared with communities and exercised,” the advisory says.

The advisory follows another Thursday that called on tank car owners to examine their fleets for models fitted with aluminum covers protecting pressure relief valves and consider upgrading to steel. The NTSB has found that aluminum covers on some of the cars involved in the Ohio derailment melted, potentially compromising the valves.

The Federal Railroad Administration also issued an advisory asking railroads to review their use of detectors designed to provide train crews with warnings about overheating bearings, which can cause derailments. The crew on the derailed train did receive a warning but it came to late for them to stop the train safely, according to the NTSB.

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By Ian Duncan
Ian Duncan is a reporter covering federal transportation agencies and the politics of transportation. He previously worked at the Baltimore Sun for seven years, covering city hall, the military and criminal justice. He was part of the Sun's team covering Freddie Gray's death in 2015 and then-Mayor Catherine Pugh's Healthy Holly books scandal. Twitter https://twitter.com/iduncan

PHMSA Safety Advisory Notice: Railroad Emergency Preparedness

Friday, March 3, 2023

PHMSA Safety Advisory - Railroad Emergency Preparedness.pdf (205.57 KB)

This Safety Advisory alerts those engaged in the rail transportation of hazardous materials of their obligation to appropriately plan for emergencies and share information about available emergency response resources, as well as urges actions to ensure emergency responders are adequately equipped to respond to rail transportation incidents involving hazmat.

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