CONRAIL

Hazardous Material Safety

Railroads offer a superior safety record when it comes to transporting the chemicals used in a variety of industrial, health and consumer products upon which today's American economy depends.

In 1991 -- the most recent full year for which truck competitive data is available -- railroads were involved in less than one accident/derailment per billion ton-mile which released hazardous materials. Trucks, by comparison, experienced a hazmat release rate of 4.8 accidents per billion ton-miles. (The statistics exclude movements of less than 200 miles, which are overwhelmingly carried by truck, including truck shipment of the hazardous material which causes more injury than any other: gasoline.)

What We Carry

The U.S. Department of Transportation classifies some 2,500 commodities as hazardous. Railroads, as common carriers, are required by law to transport all commodities as requested by customers, in accordance with tariffs and contracts on file with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board.

The chemical names of many of these products sound ominous, but these commodities are essential to the nation's economy, and the health and comfort of its citizens. Some sample chemicals and how they're used: phosphoric acid for carbonated soda, ammonia for fertilizer, chlorine for disinfectants and cleansers, acrylic acid for contact lenses, dichloromethane for photographs, formaldehyde for particle board, vinyl acetate for safety glass.

Conrail will provide specific information on commodities carried through individual communities to local emergency response agencies.

It's Good Business To Be Safe

It's no accident that the rail industry's record has been improving. When major derailments occur, especially those involving leaks of hazardous materials, they cost railroads dearly. Not only do they disrupt scheduled operations, but clean-up costs can run into the millions. Add lost business and liability costs, and it's clear that providing safe, incident-free transportation of hazardous materials is in a railroad's own financial self-interest as well as the public interest.

The incentives to prevent accidents are just as strong for the chemical manufacturers, who own or lease the fleet of 200,000 tank cars in which many of these products are carried, and the tank car builders. Most tank cars are owned either by the chemical companies or non-railroad car leasing companies. Conrail does not own any tank cars used by shippers to transport hazardous materials. Where railroads are responsible for the safe operations of trains, the shippers are responsible for making sure a tank car is in compliance with federal regulations -- including that the cars are mechanically sound and appropriate for the commodity being carried -- and the safe loading of the car.

The railroad, chemical, and tank car building industries have joined together to improve the safety of hazardous material transportation. This Inter-Industry Task Force on the Safe Transportation of Hazardous Materials By Rail is headed by the chief executive officers and presidents of major railroads, chemical manufacturers, and builders and owners of tank cars. (For more information on this program contact the Association of American Railroads in Washington at 202/639-2550.) The Task Force has established measures that are more stringent than the regulations of the U.S. Department of Transportation and its Federal Railroad Administration. Conrail also has implemented additional guidelines and procedures.

Technical advances in tank car construction, improvements in track, and extensive training programs have all contributed to the railroads' safety record.

Tank Car Improvements

Different types of tank cars are used to carry different categories of hazardous materials. The Department of Transportation will not allow a hazardous commodity to move by rail unless it has determined that a suitable car exists or can be adapted.

Continuing research into ways to improve the safety of tank cars has led to four major improvements that have had a direct effect on the decrease in accidents and releases of hazmats.

Training Programs

Conrail employees receive training in hazardous materials regulations, operating procedures, and emergency response procedures, as well as the proper preparation of shipping papers needed to identify and monitor hazardous material shipments.

All operating employees are given copies of Conrail's manual summarizing U.S. Department of Transportation regulations and Conrail rules for hazmat transportation, including instructions on the placarding, switching and positioning of hazmat cars. All train and engine employees are required to carry and be familiar with the manual.

Appropriate Conrail supervisors have also taken five-day tank car classes at the hazmat training school operated by an affiliate of the Association of American Railroads in Pueblo, Colorado. This annual program includes subjects like assessing derailment and tank car damage, emergency response techniques, safe transloading of chemicals from one car to another, simulated drills, and the use of personal protective equipment. Conrail also sponsors participation by selected local fire departments in the training programs at Pueblo.

Working With Local Public Safety Officials

Conrail participates with local public safety officials in planning for the rare instances when hazardous material accidents occur, and also comes to the community with training programs for local fire departments. Each of Conrail's major rail yards has created and regularly updates a yard emergency response plan, and local Conrail management works with fire chiefs and Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) in developing the plans. These plans cover a wide variety of particulars, including procedures to be followed and resources available in the event of an emergency.

Conrail's hazmat public liaison program, started in late 1979, has been presented to tens of thousands of public safety professionals (mostly firemen) in every state in which Conrail operates. At the sessions, Conrail safety personnel outline proper hazardous material transportation and emergency response procedures. These presentations also serve as planning sessions for coordinating responses by railroad and local officials in the rare event of an incident. Conrail also participates in other training drills, sponsored by local fire departments and emergency units, in which hazardous material accidents are simulated.

In addition, the Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response program is a nationwide outreach effort of the transportation industry and chemical companies to assist communities in developing and evaluating emergency response plans. Conrail is also a participate in the Responsible Care program sponsored by the Chemical Manufacturers Association.

Emergency Information Resources

Railroad hazardous material accidents are rare, but when they occur, accurate and timely information is essential in formulating an emergency response. The source of much of the needed information is the shipper who asks the railroad to transport the product. The shipper is responsible for providing the railroad with shipping documents that must include, by federal regulation, an emergency response phone number where experts on the chemical can be reached, the proper shipping name of the commodity, the hazard class assigned to the commodity, the product identification number, and the total quantity, by weight or volume, being shipped. The shipper must also place placards on the exterior of the rail car or trailer giving the product identification number and hazard class.

Much of this information is found in the conductor's train consist, a computer-generated document listing each car in the train, giving its order within the train, product code, and whether it is designated as carrying a hazardous material. A separate form, given to through-train crews prior to departure, lists hazmat cars in the train with car initials and numbers, location in train and type of placard.

The hazardous material commodity description carried on the train with the train consists, which is also available around the clock through Conrail's computer system, includes a detailed description of chemical's characteristics (odor, flammability, etc.), a telephone number where experts on the chemical can be reached, recommended emergency response if the material is on fire or not on fire, personnel protection, conditions under which an evacuation is advised, and environmental considerations. In addition, Conrail requires its train crew members to carry a current copy of U.S. Department of Transportation's emergency response guidebook while on duty. Chemtrec, a 24-hour information and referral service organized by the Chemical Manufacturers Association, is also available for valuable technical assistance on specific commodities in the event of an emergency.

Operation Respond

Quick information is also available directly to local emergency officials through the Operation Respond Emergency Information System (OREIS), which allows first responders to immediately access the information they need to deal appropriately with hazardous materials, so they can better protect their communities and themselves.

Conrail, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Amtrak are among the railroads (and trucking companies, too) whose mainframe computers are accessible to first responders via OREIS.

Emergency responders arriving at the scene of a hazardous materials incident can use OREIS to obtain quick and accurate information from those computers on the material, often in less than one minute. Included in the data is guidance on how to deal with a particular situation based on the location, the weather, and the material involved.

Conrail has donated the OREIS software, along with funding for one year's worth of upgrades, to communities where it has major facilities as part of its ongoing effort to emphasize transportation safety.

Operation Respond, a not-for-profit institute, was created in November 1992 as a cooperative effort between the Federal Railroad Administration and the Port Terminal Railroad of Houston. Today, Operation Respond is a broader public/private partnership of the public and industry public safety community. Operation Respond is jointly funded by the Department of Transportation, rail and truck freight carriers, and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

Keeping Everyone Informed

Notifying concerned parties about potentially dangerous incidents is an integral part of Conrail's emergency response program.

As soon as an incident occurs, train crews are instructed to notify immediately (usually by radio) the train dispatcher or train movement director, who in turn notifies the nearest fire department via a 911 number if the train crew has not done so already. Conrail supervisors are also called to the scene and local officials are supplied with available information, including the name of the material involved and recommended response procedures. This information is also made available to emergency response personnel and other officials on the scene.

Any leaks are also reported to Chemtrec (which can arrange for experts on the particular chemical involved to be sent to the scene), the Association of American Railroads' Bureau of Explosives, appropriate state agencies, and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

While the railroad and chemical industry experts make recommendations on the need for evacuations to local public safety officials on the scene of an incident, those local officials, who are charged with public safety in their jurisdictions, make the final decisions.

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