Hazardous Material Safety

FMCSA relies on the Department's Research and Special Programs Administration's (RSPA) HAZMAT Materials Information System to provide data on HAZMAT incidents. There is an approximate 3 to 4 month time lag in the reporting due to data revisions and the 30-day time limit in reporting incidents from date of notification. As a result, the number of 2004 serious HAZMAT incidents will not be available until the December 2004/January 2005 timeframe.

The following table depicts the performance measures and goals related to Hazardous Materials Safety.

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY – DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND GOALS

Performance Measures	Modal Administration	FY 2001 Actual	FY 2002 Actual	FY 2003 Actual	FY 2004 Target	FY 2004 Actual	FY 2004 Results
Number of serious hazardous materials incidents in transportation	FMCSA	598 (Target N/A2)	471 r (Target 523)	485 r (Target 515)	509	450 1	Met

FY 2004 Results: FMCSA met the performance target.

FMCSA

The vast majority of serious HAZMAT incidents that occur on the nation's roads involve CMV's. As a result, FMCSA carried out a coordinated motor carrier safety strategy framed around enforcement and compliance operations; cross-modal initiatives; and research, technology, and information management to reduce the number of serious reportable HAZMAT incidents involving CMVs. In 2003, FMCSA and its federal and state partners reduced serious HAZMAT incidents involving CMVs to 376, exceeding its stated goal of 430 incidents. This is well along the way to meeting the goal of reducing the year 2000 baseline of 465 by 20 percent by the year 2010.

The following table depicts FMCSA supplemental performance measures and goals related to HAZMAT Safety.

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY – FMCSA SUPPLEMENTAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND GOALS

Performance Measures	FY 2001 Actual	FY 2002 Actual	FY 2003 Actual	FY 2004 Target	FY 2004 Actual	FY 2004 Results
Number of serious CMV HAZMAT incidents in transportation	502 (Target 452)	441 (Target 384)	430 (Target 376)	419	N/A1

FY 2004 Results: Data not yet available for this measure.

Enforcement, Compliance Operations, and Cross-Modal Initiatives

In FY 2004, FMCSA issued a final rule on HAZMAT Permitting, establishing standards and procedures for carriers of high-hazard materials. Safety enforcement operations conducted in 2004 also ensured compliance with Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations (FHMR), and included the following:

• 46 cargo tank facility reviews, ¹
• 191 HAZMAT shipper reviews, ¹
• 1,409 HAZMAT compliance reviews, ¹
• 5,120 HAZMAT package inspections, ¹
• 128,109 HAZMAT vehicle inspections, ¹
• 474 Security Contact Reviews and 1,166 Security Sensitivity Visits. ¹

FMCSA participated with state partners and other modal administrations in the National Hazardous Material Shipper Check 2004. In addition, FMCSA led strike force activities aimed at improving safety, security, and identifying undeclared shipments of HAZMAT. Within the Department, FMCSA led a HAZMAT cross modal working group to determine training needs, determine the effectiveness of security measures, improve employee training standards in the regulations, determine the effectiveness of current packaging standards, and develop memorandums of understanding between modes for enforcement and policy interpretations.

Research, Technology, and Information

FMCSA's Hazardous Materials (HM) Safety Permitting Program, which requires trucking companies planning to haul certain highly hazardous materials to have a special safety permit, will result in safety benefits totaling more than $26 million over a 10-year period.

In an effort to reduce accidents of HAZMAT carriers, FMCSA initiated research toward the development of a HAZMAT shipper prioritization algorithm to identify high-risk HAZMAT carriers. FMCSA also enhanced data collection through extensive involvement in intermodal efforts to create a unified HAZMAT inspection and enforcement database.

FMCSA continued its efforts to heighten the awareness and sensitivity of motor carriers transporting HAZMAT to security threats, and to strengthen and support programs that ensure the safe and secure transport of HAZMAT. In FY 2004, these activities included working with the states to develop a network to communicate alerts to truck inspectors and the trucking industry on security information, completing development and distribution of 37,000 copies of Guidelines for Developing and Effective Security Program for the Transportation of Hazardous Materials to HAZMAT carriers nationwide, and training law enforcement and carriers in security awareness through its Trucks and Terrorism Seminars.

Foonotes:

1. Figures are for activities reported through June 30, 2004. (Back to text)