Rules about hazmat trains worry Pennsylvania officials

find routes that pose the least overall risk in the event of accidents or terrorist attacks.

There are twenty-seven different risk factors — such as population density — that must be considered by the rail companies nationwide when assessing the safety and security, said Warren Flatau, acting public affairs director for the Federal Railroad Administration. “They have to use the safest and most secure route,” Flatau said. “They have to take a whole bunch of things into consideration. And if the FRA [Federal Railroad Administration] disagrees with their assessment, we can overrule them.”

That has many concerned that trains carrying hazardous materials could be rerouted to such relatively rural areas as York and Adams counties to avoid such populated areas as Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

Federal agencies do not track the shipment of hazardous materials cargo day to day, but the agencies do have oversight. The FRA, the Transportation Safety Administration, and DHS have rules and regulations for the shipment of hazardous cargo by rail. Those regulations have been in place for years.

“We have a fairly robust oversight regime,” Flatau said.

The fear among local officials still is what might be on those rail cars, regardless of the safety precautions. Officials from the FRA, TSA, and DHS all say it is up to area rail companies — in this case, CSX — to tell local communities what those hazardous materials are. Therein lies the frustration for several local officials charged with protecting the community: Response has been minimal at best.

Hanover Borough Fire Commissioner James Roth said he has heard the rumors and read the federal reports online, but has been told very little about what to expect. Roth said CSX does has a good track record as far as accidents go in south central Pennsylvania. One thing to keep in mind, he said, is that hazardous materials, including chlorine and ammonia, have been hauled through the area for decades. The state, with assistance from CSX, has held training courses throughout the past few years about how to handle certain hazardous materials spills, Roth said.

Deinlein writes that the lack of information is frustrating, especially to local officials elected or appointed to protect the public. It is troubling because, under the FRA rules, they should be allowed to know — within reason — what that is, Flatau said.

Sullivan also said Thursday that emergency responders are entitled to know “in a general sense” what is being transported through the area. “We’re always willing to talk to the emergency management people,” he said. “We have a thorough system in place that those people who need to know have access to that information.”

Carmen said the York County commissioners have been informed of the concerns and rumors. Those concerned about what might be happening — local municipalities, county officials and the state — should present a unified front to ask CSX what might be happening, she said. “That would be my point altogether,” Carmen said. “We take the safety of the residents very seriously. And as much the safety of residents as the safety of the first responders.”

Backgrounds

  • In its “Hazmat Routing Rule Fact Sheet,” the Federal Railroad Administration writes: “The primary safety and security concern related to the transportation of hazardous materials by rail is preventing a potentially lethal spill or release from occurring in close proximity to heavily populated areas, events or venues with large numbers of people in attendance, iconic buildings and landmarks or environmentally sensitive areas. A catastrophic event of this nature could be the result of an accident or a deliberate act.”
  • The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Federal Railroad Administration have given rail companies in the United States until 1 September this year or 31 March 2010, to implement new rules for transporting hazardous materials. The difference in startup dates depends upon whether the companies choose to use six months of data from July to December 2008, or January to December 2008.
  • The FRA also lists in a fact sheet about the new rules the kinds of materials it considers hazardous, requiring the rail companies to evaluate their safety. They include:
    • Bulk shipments of Poison Inhalation Hazard materials, such as chlorine and anhydrous ammonia, “which are known or presumed on the basis of tests to be toxic to humans and pose a hazard to health in the event of a release during transportation”
    • More than 5,000 pounds in a single carload of certain kinds of explosive materials that pose a hazard of mass explosion, fragment projection, or a fire hazard
    • Certain high-level radioactive material shipments