Committee on Transportation of Hazardous
Materials (ATO40)
Minutes of Regular Committee
Meetings
Mid-year Meeting, June 24, 2009
MEMORANDUM
To: Members and Friends, TRB Committee on Transportation of Hazardous Materials (AT040)
From:
Re: Minutes of June 24, 2009 – Mid-year Committee Meeting
This document is available in Word format.
The TRB Committee on Transportation of Hazardous Materials
met at the
1. Introduction of Committee Members
The meeting was called to order at 10:00 am EST. Brief introductions were made by all present and Chairman Mark Lepofsky reviewed the tentative agenda. Attendees included the following 17 members:
Mark Abkowitz
–
Laura Barhydt – Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Christopher Bonanti – FAA
Richard Bornhorst –
Cherry Burke – Dow Chemical*
Timothy Butters – City of
Ed Chapman – BNSF Railway
Sarah Dammen – ECONorthwest*
Phillip Daum – Engineering Systems Inc.*
Robert Fronczak –
Emily Goodenough – Visual Risk Technologies*
Scott Gorton – Transportation Security Administration
Charlie Hochman – Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Mark Lepofsky – Battelle (Chairman)
Rich Moskowitz – American Trucking Associations
M. Rapik Saat –
Steve Urschel – SABIC Innovative Plastics*
Elaine King – TRB
In addition, the following 10 friends and visitors were in attendance:
Joyce Beerbower – DGTA
Lee Finewood – DOE/OCRWM/OLM
Andrew Marinik – VT Transportation Institute
OJ Milano – Visual Risk Technologies
Ray Mollers – DHS/IP/Emergency Services
Joseph Nicklous – Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Geoffrey Oliver – Transport Canada
Bill Rogers – TRB
Kin Wong – Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
* denotes participation via teleconference
2. Review and Approve Previous Meeting Minutes
Richard Bornhorst
reviewed the meeting minutes from the Annual Committee meeting held in
The meeting minutes
for the 2009 Annual Committee meeting are available on the Committee home page
at http://projects.battelle.org/trbhazmat.
3. TRB Staff Report
Elaine King, our TRB liaison, gave a brief update on TRB
activities. The theme for the 2009 Joint
Summer Meeting will be “Forging Ahead in Uncertain Times” and the conference
will be held July 19-22 in
The theme for the 2010 Annual
meeting will be “Investing in Our
Transportation Future – BOLD Ideas to Meet BIG Challenges” and will be
held January 10-14 in
Elaine mentioned
that the Hilton Hotel will be under renovation during the Annual meeting, so
room space will be limited for Committee meetings and sessions. TRB will likely limit the Committees to one
time slot and reduce the number of sessions available to each Committee to 2.0.
[Subsequent to the Committee meeting, TRB
announced a limit of 2.0 sessions per committee.] However, the Committee may sponsor or co-sponsor
sessions with other standing TRB committees.
This limit does not include poster sessions or workshops. Elaine encouraged the Committee to submit
session topics for the 2010 Annual meeting ASAP. October 1 is the deadline to finalize session
details, confirm speakers, and assign presiding officers.
Elaine also mentioned that the “call for papers” for the Annual meeting is now online. The deadline for papers submitted in PDF format is August 1st. For more information on paper submissions, please go to the TRB Web site: http://www.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=10482
4. Committee Liaisons and Communications
Mark Lepofsky mentioned previous discussions on the need to have a consolidated online hazardous materials research database and, in this context, introduced Laura Barhydt as a new liaison with the Committee on Library and Information Science for Transportation (ABG40).
Laura mentioned that the national transportation research library is now online and hosted by RITA. The library will maintain any permanent document, research document, or reports of research submitted. She mentioned that the library relies on transportation research thesaurus for indexing and to enable users of the library to easily find documents and research of interest. In this thesaurus, hazardous materials terminology is not well represented. One possible action for the Committee would be to further develop the thesaurus. She also mentioned that the “Community of Interest” Web page could be developed to enable members of the hazardous materials community to share information on research. Committee members interested in working with Laura should contact her directly at (202) 366-4591 or Laura.Barhydt@dot.gov.
Richard Bornhorst mentioned that TRB has developed a new communication coordinator position for each of the Committees. These positions were developed as a way to promote and share information on the use of tools such as Google Sites, GoTo Meeting, Facebook, and Twitter for conducting meetings and general business. Use of these tools will improve accessibility to the activities of TRB, especially for those with restricted travel budgets.
The communications coordinator will be responsible for sharing and learning new communication tools, maintaining and updating the Committee’s communication portfolio, and providing input to TRB and other Committees in order to share lessons learned. The communications coordinator will participate with other communications coordinators in webinars 3 times a year and will receive correspondence from TRB roughly 4 times a year.
Richard also mentioned that TRB hosted a kickoff meeting on June 22 using Go To Meeting. About 120 communications coordinators participated and the following decisions were taken:
1) TRB will develop a consolidated list of Committees and their respective Web sites.
2) TRB will not host Committee Web sites because it would reduce control over content. Friends would not be able to access content, only Committee members. TRB has prepared templates and guidance for Committees to follow for privately hosted Web sites and use of Google Sites.
3) The communications coordinator committee will be governed by a smaller representative group of communications coordinators. This group will be composed of about 10-20 individuals.
In this context, Richard suggested that the Committee’s Web site be moved to Google Sites in order to take advantage of certain tools, such as blogs, calendars, and file sharing. The Committee agreed in general, and Mark Lepofsky indicated that he would work with Richard to make the transition.
Mark Lepofsky mentioned that the North American Transborder Freight Data will be released on July 1. The Freight Transportation Data Committee (ABJ90) will meet during the Summer Conference.
Bob Fronczak mentioned that the Transportation Hazards &
Security Summit 2009, titled “Progress Through Partnerships,” will be held in
5. Agency Updates
PHMSA – Charlie
Hochman mentioned that PHMSA is waiting to find out who the next Administrator
will be. PHMSA is one of the last
agencies to have an administrator appointed by the White House. He mentioned that PHMSA continues to work
with FAA on lithium battery issues and with the emergency response community on
electronic communications and the
Richard Moskowitz mentioned that a Congressional panel meeting on the reauthorization of the SAFETEA-LU Act will be held today and overlap with the present meeting. The reauthorization bill contains language to extend the HMCRP.
FAA – Chris Bonanti mentioned that FAA research is primarily focused on flight operations, lithium batteries, and fuel cell technology. Research related to fire testing of lithium batteries and fuel cells should be completed soon. Some of the initial findings of the research indicate that some lithium metal batteries cannot be extinguished if involved in a fire with the fire extinguishing agents that are typically carried on planes. On the other hand, lithium ion batteries can be extinguished, but restart if unattended. He also mentioned that the FAA is pursuing additional tests for polymer batteries and other types of batteries. The SAFETEA-LU Act reauthorization bill may contain more funding for these tests.
Tim Butters raised a question regarding the new regulations and test procedures for 1.4S explosives. Chris indicated that the 1.4S test criteria was recently changed at the UN. The conditions for use the type test 6 (d) for classification of 1.4S explosives were modified to require that type tests 6 (a), 6 (b), and 6 (c) be conducted first and that product as intended would be expected to produce an effect more severe than those obtained in the 6 (c) type test. Both the 6 (c) and 6 (d) type tests are needed to determine type “S” classification. These changes will be phased in ICAO on 1 January 2011 and in the IMDG/RID/ADR on 1 January 2012.
Tim Butters raised another question regarding the flammability of various fuselage skins and indicated that certain skins could be hard to extinguish in a fire situation. This could be an issue with commercial planes. Chris indicated that the FAA does not intend to require the use of these problematic skins on commercial planes.
RITA – Alan Rao
mentioned that the
Cherry Burke mentioned that it may be difficult to improve highway tank trucks without better data. Nonetheless, she said that this is an area of interest and that the HMCRP selected a project titled “Accident Performance Data of Bulk Containers Used for Hazardous Materials Transport” for FY 2009 in order address this data gap.
TSA – Scott Gorton mentioned a final rule released on November 26, 2008 (73 FR 72130) in order to improve rail security and chain of custody requirements for sensitive materials of interest. On December 19, 2008 (73 FR 77531), TSA extended the compliance deadline for this new rule to April 1, 2009. Scott mentioned that owners of TIH tanks cars can obtain GPS devices, including 3 years of operation and maintenance under the FY 09 Grants Program. This program was established to offset the cost of compliance to industry with the new security rule. Roughly 60% of tank car owners have applied and been granted GPS devices. The devices will enable TSA to pinpoint TIH materials in the rail system.
Scott mentioned that TSA is working with the
Scott mentioned that TSA continues to develop and refine the
dispersion modeling for a catastrophic chlorine release from a rail car. The current research is focused on improving
the source terms of the model (e.g. whether chlorine is a liquid or vapor when
initially released). Once the model is
refined, it will be used to assist emergency planners. TSA is also working with the
Scott also mentioned that TSA is initiating research with respect to ammonium nitrate to determine exactly how easy it is to detonate. This issue is of particular importance because Congress is considering new laws that would require anyone possessing or purchasing the ammonium nitrate to be registered.
Tim Butters raised a question on the availability of the data obtained from the GPS devices required for TIH tank cars. He expressed an interest is using the data for commodity flow or risk analysis purposes. Scott indicated that TSA will house the data and share information with other agencies and the emergency response community if requested.
Lee Finewood raised a question regarding the location of the
live ammunitions testing and the contractor.
Scott indicated that the testing will likely be conducted at a DoD
facility, perhaps at the
Cherry Burke made a comment regarding the need to place so much importance on the development of a dispersion model. The model should not be used in an actual chorine release because what happens in reality can be quite different. The model should be used in emergency planning only. Scott expressed agreement with the comment and reiterated that the research is primarily intended to improve the tool. However, for large-scale releases, the model can be quite an accurate predictor. Validation and development of the model requires involvement from the emergency response community.
USCG – Richard
Bornhorst mentioned that the USCG will be hosting this year’s parallel IMO
World Maritime Day event in
DOE – Lee Finewood mentioned that DOE is also working to improve source terms for modeling the radioactive materials in transportation. He mentioned that DOE is currently working on a rewrite of guidance on physical protection from radioactive materials. He also mentioned that the DOE is working with the FRA on a project to improve tracking of certain materials around nuclear facilities.
Transport
6. Dangerous Goods Training Association Presentation
Joyce Beerbower from the Dangerous Goods Training
Association (DGTA) gave a brief presentation on recent efforts to develop a
certification / credentialing program for hazardous materials professionals and
trainers. This program is being
developed to address a COSTHA/PHMSA initiative to enhance the image of the
hazardous materials professional and a DGAC/PHMSA initiative to standardize and
improve the quality of hazardous materials training across all sectors of
transportation (train the trainer program).
Joyce indicated that DGTA has partnered with the National Environmental,
Safety, and Health Training Association (NESHTA) to develop a core
certification exam and supplemental specialty area exams. The core exam is primarily based on the
principles of the UN Model Regulations and the specialty area exams address
specific knowledge on the use of ADR/RID, 49 CFR, ICAO, TDG, and the IMDG
Code. The exams are under development
and a certification board will be established to oversee the program. A beta version of the certification program
will launched later this year in
A question was raised about the cost of the program. Joyce indicated that in order to maintain the certification, participants will likely be required to pay $250/per year.
Another question was raised about whether or not DGTA will
recognize examinations already required in some modes of transportation, such
as the
For more information on DGTA, NESHTA, and the certification program, please go to www.dgta.org or www.neshta.org.
7. HMCRP Update
Bill Rogers of TRB gave a brief update on the status of the HMCRP. He informed the Committee that TRB, in conjunction with PHMSA, has prepared a summary of the HMCRP to-date, and it can be found on the PHMSA Web site: http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/PHMSA/DownloadableFiles/Hazardous_Materials_Cooperative_Research_Program.pdf
Bill announced that
the request for proposals (RFPs) for HM-07 – “Accident Performance Data of Bulk
Packages Used for Hazardous Materials Transportation” and HM-9 – “Dry Ice
Limits on Aircraft” are now available on the TRB Web site. The RFP for HM-08 – “Feasibility of a Single
Transportation Worker Identification Credential and License” will be released
shortly.
Bill mentioned that Committees are encouraged to submit new research needs statements (RNS) to TRB so that they can be uploaded into the database. The RNS can be used by any cooperative research program. He also mentioned that the HMCRP oversight panel will meet sometime in October and will be under the chairmanship of Cherry Burke.
Cherry Burke requested the Committee to make RNS as specific as possible so that it will fit within the cost parameters of the HMCRP. The RNS should identify the primary stakeholders and the potential benefits of the research.
Bill indicated that new RNS should be submitted to TRB no later than the end of July in order for them to be considered by the HMCRP oversight panel in October.
Bill then proceeded to give an update on the other HMCRP
currently underway. HM-01 – “Local
Hazardous Materials Commodity Flow Data and Methodology Guidance” is almost at
the final report stage. HM-02 –
“Enhanced Incident Data for Root Cause Analysis” is about 99% complete and the
final report should be issued shortly.
HM-03 – “A Guide for Assessing Emergency Response Needs and Capabilities
for Hazardous Materials Releases” is currently addressing comments on the
original mythology and then will move to the second phase of the project.
HM-04 – “Emerging Technologies Applicable to Hazardous Materials
Transportation Safety and Security” is close to the final report and should be
complete in the next 2 months. HM-05 –
“Evaluation of the Potential Benefits of Electronic Shipping Papers of
Hazardous Materials Shipments” was completing an interim report on tasks 1 and
2. HM-06 – “Development of an
Environmental Hazard System for Hazardous Materials Transport” underwent a
title change in order to change the focus of the project to chemical mixtures,
and an interim report has been completed.
8. Joint Meeting with the Committee on Freight Transportation Economics and Regulation (AT010)
Mark Lepofsky invited the Committee on Freight Transportation Economics and Regulations (AT010) to join the Committee meeting briefly in order to discuss possible cooperative work related to competitive pricing for hazardous materials shipments.
Kevin Neels, the Chairman of the AT010, began the discussion by expressing an interest in the economics of pricing for road and rail carriers of hazardous materials. In particular, their Committee is looking for answers regarding how big ticket safety improvements, such as positive train control, are paid for by carriers. In terms the railroad system, who inherits liability in the event of an incident, the shipper or the rail carrier? Do rail carriers have to accept hazardous materials shipments? Kevin also expressed an interest in understanding the economics of safety, including incentives for industry to adopt risk reduction measures.
Mark Lepofsky mentioned that must of industry voluntarily complies with the hazardous materials regulations and that certain regulations are actually designed for the benefit of industry, such as electronic shipping papers.
Phil Daum expressed support of cooperation between the two Committees and suggested that the Committees could hold a joint session on hazardous materials economics at the upcoming annual meeting.
Kin Wong made a comment regarding the higher insurance premiums for hazardous materials shipments. Mark Lepofsky mentioned that, in theory, a safety improvement should reduce insurance premiums. A member of AT010 indicated that some hazardous materials are considered uninsurable regardless of actual risk in transportation. In other words, there is no insurance market for certain hazardous materials and in those cases, the rail carrier or the general public must be willing to take on the risk.
Phil Daum mentioned that in most cases, the rail carrier becomes the primary insurer; however, the rail carrier is not allowed to include the insurance rate in the freight rate.
A member of AT010 indicated that insurers will not discount insurance premiums based on a safety improvement until a proven track record is established. Another member of AT010 also mentioned that in certain cases, the judgment from a liability case may exceed the net worth of the company and would most likely put the company out of business.
Phil Daum suggested the formulation of a session on the economics of safety for hazardous materials transportation. He suggested that the panel could be composed of members of the rail, insurance, and chemical industries.
Cherry Burke mentioned that it might be a challenge to find someone in the insurance industry to participate in such a session. She also expressed an opinion that the real issue is establishing realistic liability caps for hazardous materials shipments. She asked: If no company is willing to ship hazardous materials, how do we as a society sustain our economic system? She suggested that the scope of the session should be focused on the economic costs of not shipping hazardous materials.
Bob Fronczak mentioned that there are laws that establish shared liability for catastrophic incidents for hazardous materials. For example, the Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act limits liability claims against nuclear industries in the event of a catastrophic incident. The Act establishes a “no fault” insurance system designed to promote continued operations and research in nuclear power. All liability claims above a certain threshold become the responsibility of the public (i.e. the federal government).
Cherry Burke mentioned that the National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center (NISAC) is conducting research on the economic impact of disruptions to the chemical supply chain. In particular, the research will look at the impact of disruptions on end products. For more information on NISAC, click here: http://www.sandia.gov/nisac/index.html.
Kevin Neel supported the idea of developing a session, but was of the opinion that AT010 should take the lead and request support from AT040 as the session develops.
9. Annual Meeting Planning
Due to the limitations on sessions this year, Mark Lepofsky suggested that a poster session would be appropriate for papers related to hazardous materials transportation. A poster session provides an ideal forum for researchers to meet one-on-one with interested persons. Rarely are the papers related to each other, and therefore it is difficult to base sessions around them.
Mark also suggested that since the commodity flow survey will be completed this year, the Committee traditionally participates in a session related to freight data. The Committee could join forces with the Freight Transportation Data Committee (ABJ90).
Mark Abkowitz suggested a possible session on climate change
and hazardous materials transportation.
He raised concerns about possible disruptions to the chemical supply
chain in the Gulf Region as a result of Hurricanes and Storm Surges. A significant quantity of hazardous materials
moves in and out of the
Cherry Burke again mentioned the research underway at NISAC and suggested that it could be included as part of a session on climate change.
Mark Abkowitz also suggested that the session could focus on emergency response and how fast the hazardous materials community could bounce back after a significant disruption.
Cherry Burke then mentioned that the NISAC research will address resiliency in the event of supply chain disruptions.
Scott Gorton suggested that the session could also look at how decisions are made between private and public sectors to restore the transportation system after a disruption.
Mark Lepofsky was not convinced that climate change was a suitable topic for a session sponsored by AT040.
Richard Bornhorst suggested that it might be possible to tie in the climate change theme with hazardous materials transport by reevaluating the basic principles behind hazardous materials regulations. The hazardous materials regulations were developed with “normal transport conditions” in mind. How will climate change affect these basic assumptions? This could be particularly important for chemicals that are temperature sensitive.
Ed Chapman also agreed that climate change disruptions could affect the length of time that sensitive materials are in transportation, thus increasing risk.
Mark Abkowitz suggested that the session could focus on the identification of problems that may arise due to climate change, raising awareness of the implications of these problems, and practical solutions to these problems.
Richard Bornhorst also mentioned that climate change may
introduce new shipping conditions for the transport of hazardous
materials. For example, global warming
has caused the Arctic ice to melt and in the next few years viable trade routes
could open up across the
Cherry Burke suggested that the effects due to climate change can be ascertained from real-life experience. Climate change typically means more extreme weather. Lessons learned can be drawn from previous hazardous materials transportation disruptions due to weather.
Mark Lepofsky summarized the discussion and concluded that there was enough interest in a session on climate change. On this basis, a small working group was formed to further develop the session under the chairmanship of Mark Abkowitz. Cherry Burke, Sara Dammen, and Steve Urschel volunteered to participate.
Laura Barhydt expressed interest in a session related to metadata management and data sharing throughout the hazardous materials community. Mark Lepofsky agreed that this would be of interest to the Committee and perhaps it could be part of a joint session on freight data.
10. Research Needs Statements
Lee Finewood suggested that a RNS could be developed to look at an all-hazards approach to risk analysis in transportation.
Cherry Burke mentioned that a similar research idea was
proposed to the HMCRP oversight panel and was rejected because it was too large
in scope. She also mentioned that the
current national model is facilities based (static) and would not adequately
address transportation (dynamic). As a
way forward, research should be proposed in a building block fashion. The research should start small and as new
lessons are learned, the research can expand.
Cherry also mentioned that George Famini of the
Mark Lepofsky mentioned an interim conference call held on June 28 whereby a number of Committee members began to develop new RNS. Mark suggested that due to time constraints, the RNS developed in the conference call could be further developed online using Google Sites. Google Sites would enable interested persons to post new ideas and comment on existing ideas in the form of a blog or a message board.
The existing topics the Committee is considering are as follows:
1) Improved methods for categorizing hazardous materials and their associated spill impacts;
2) Environmental hazard release modeling;
3) Investigation of the impacts of training on safety;
4) Development of an emergency response guide, not for first responders but for qualified responders. This guide would go beyond the Emergency Response Guide (ERG);
5) Solid hazmat and the potential terrorist threat. Suggest cargo to be investigated: spent nuclear fuel;
6) Rubber lines and wet lines for hazardous materials transfers;
7) Travel time analysis;
8) Improved methods for categorizing liquids and gases; and
9) Peak contact velocities for highway tank cars.
11. New Business/Roundtable Discussion
Mark Lepofsky also mentioned the idea of possibly hosting a webinar on ethanol based on the general interest in the topic at previous Committee meetings.
Mark indicated to Elaine King the Committee’s preference for a Monday time slot during the Annual meeting to be held in January.
Cherry Burke mentioned that due to her increased workload, she is looking for a Committee member to help out with the paper reviews this year with the idea of perhaps taking over the following year.
After papers are submitted to TRB, they are forwarded to the relevant Committees for review. The paper review manager will assign approximately 3-5 reviewers to each paper and the reviews must be completed by the end of September. The paper review manager works with TRB and Mark Lepofsky to determine which papers are suitable for publication, presentations, or for a poster session. Interested Committee members should contact Cherry Burke directly.
Elaine King and the Committee expressed gratitude for Cherry Burke’s excellent work in overseeing and managing the paper review process. Elaine mentioned that newcomers to the paper review process may benefit from training material available as a webinar through TRB.
12. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 3:30 pm EST.