Comprehensive review of Federal railroad safety and Hazard materials transportation

8/19/2019 Comprehensive review of Federal railroad safety and Hazard materials transportation

1/37

Comprehensive review of Federalrailroad safety and Hazard materialstransportation

Name

Course Title

Date


2/37

Important Definitions• FRA stands for Federal Rail road Administrationthat is administered under the U.S department of

Transportation.

• Railroad refers to any means of non-highwaytransportation that may run on rail of electro-magnetic tracs.

• Hazardous Material Transportation! thecareful a"oidance of accidents or accidental

release of ha#ardous materials while mo"ingthem from one location to another. $%oses& '()'*


3/37

Introduction• The U.S department of transportation has "arioustransportation agencies woring under it that areassociated with intermodal transportation.

• The Federal Railroad Administration $FRA* is asimilar agency.

• FRA performs essential roles such as!

). Safe transport of ha#ardous materials.

'. +nsuring Rail Road safety.

,. ro"iding reliale and safe transportationfacilities to people and products.


4/37

Federal Railroad

Administration• FRA was created y the Department ofTransportation Act of )/00.

•

FRA is one of the )( agencies woring under theU.S department of transportation.

• FRA performs "arious important

functions including those of

performing strict o"ersight of thetransportation of ha#ardous materials.


5/37

FRA Mission• As stated on FRA1s o2cial wesite!

3The Federal Railroad Administration1s mission is toenale the safe& reliale& and e2cient mo"ement ofpeople and goods for a strong America& now and in

the future.4


6/37

FRA’s Key Functions• FRA o"erseas all of the transportation of

ha#ardous materials while simultaneouslyensuring railroad safety.

• The ey function so FRA include o"ersight of!

). 5a#ardous material eing transported.

'. Railroad safety and consumer safety.

,. De"elopment and implementation of safetyrules.

6. 7"ersight of signal& rail trac and otheroperational practices including employee safetyand accidents.


7/37

FRA & OtherDepartments

• Apart from the Federal Rail road Administration$FRA*& there are other essential departmentsthat collaboratively perform the function ofensuring safe transportation of hazardous

materials. These include!

). ipeline and 5a#ardous %aterial SafetyAdministration $5%SA*

'. Department of 5omeland Security $D5S*

,. Department of Transportation $D7T* $%oses&'()'*


8/37

Rail Road Transportation:Collaborative Work

• FRA and other departments wor collaorati"elyamongst themsel"es and other local& state andfederal department to ensure railroad safety andproper transportation.

• Some of the ey issues that these departmentsha"e to deal with include!

). Train routing. '. Security and Safety

,. Tan car design 6. 5andling 5a#ardous%aterials

8. +mergency Response.


9/37

Hazardous MaterialTransportation Act

• The 5a#ardous %aterial Transportation Act $5%TA*was enacted ac in )/98.

• 5%TA is a principle U.S federal law that is solelyenforced to ensure proper transportation ofha#ardous materials.

• The primary purpose of the 5%T Act is to!

3protect against the riss to life& property& and theen"ironment that are inherent in the transportationof ha#ardous material in intrastate& interstate& and

foreign commerce: $%oses& '()'*


10/37

Hazardous MaterialTransportation

• +2cient transportation of ha#ardous material isone of the top priorities of the federal railroadsafety administration and other

departments.

• The entire oard of

transportation& emergency

responders and memer

companies pay speci;cattention to this aspect.


11/37


• perienced designerswor collaorati"ely to minimi#e chances of

accidents.


12/37


,. Tan Cars are properly placed within thetrains.

6. roper training is pro"ided to theadministrati"e and operational sta=.

8. roper inspections are carried out prior toshipment? departure.

0. Speci;c and proper "ehicles are chosen forthe transportation of products y accurately

determining the nature and le"el of dangerin"ol"ed.


13/37


• FRA& 5%SA and the D7T ha"e taen "ariouscollaorati"e steps to ensure safe transportationof materials speci;cally!

- Crude 7il

- Flammale li@uids.

- arge Bolumes of "olatile li@uids thatcould cause potential damage in case ofspillage? accident.

- Radioacti"e material.

- Corrosi"e and oisonous materials


14/37

Hazardous Material Transportation

& Railroad Safety• To ensure proper railroad safety as well as the

safe transportation of ha#ardous materials& thefollowing ey aspects are gi"en essentialimportance!

). Proper design of the tank cart to a"oidany accidents that result from poor design.


15/37

Hazardous Material Transportation

& Railroad Safety'. Proper classication of the product that is toe transferred in order to ensure that accurateprecautionary measures are taen eforehand.

,. !mergency responders and

accompanying rail carts are

trained to respond to

accidents or threatsimmediately so as to limit

the aftermath and e=ects.

f k


16/37

Proper Design of TankCar

• ipeline and 5a#ardous %aterials SafetyAdministration $5%SA* is speci;cally responsilefor ensuring that the tan cars meet the federalstandards that ha"e een laid down for safe

transportation.

• 5%SA is also responsile for ensuring the oldtan cars are either impro"ed and updated or

remo"ed from the transportation networs toensure safety.


17/37

P Cl fi f


18/37

Proper Classification ofProduct

• ipeline and 5a#ardous %aterials SafetyAdministration $5%SA* is also responsile forproperly classifying the product? ha#ardousmaterial eing transported.

• The tan cart used to transport the classi;edmaterial should e inspected so as to ensure thatit meets the federal standards that ha"e een laid

down.

Eff E


19/37

Effective EmergencyResponders

• The federal law re@uires the rail trac industryemployees and the safety departments to disclose the

nature of the ha#ardous material eing transported ye=ecti"ely classifying it.

• 7nce the material has een classi;ed& accompanying rail

cars and emergency responders are dispatched topro"ide assistance. $Ruin& )//(*

• 5%SA and FRA launched an 37peration Classi;cation4compliance for this purpose to undertae unannouncedinspections to ensure that the materials were ringproperly classi;ed.


20/37

Railroad Safety• 7"er the years& these e>tensi"e regulations ha"e

pro"ided e=ecti"e results.

• The numer of train-related accidents& speci;callytrains carrying ha#ardous materials& ha"edecreased tremendously.

• The increased le"el of inspections and focus onimpro"ing the safety features has had positi"eoutcomes. $urdy& )//,*


21/37

Railroad Safety


22/37

Federal Regulations and Increased

Safety Investments• The increased federal regulations and the strict safety

compliance criteria ha"e signi;cantly reduced thenumer of rail-road related accidents o"er the years.$


23/37

Federal Regulations and Increased

Safety Investments• As a result of increased in"estments within rail

road safety& "arious positi"e outcomes ha"e eenoser"ed such as!

). The train-related accidents ha"e fallen almost

68 percent since '((( therey suggesting thatfederal regulations and safety in"estments ha"epaid o=.

'. The rail employee inuring rates ha"e fallen

appro>imately 69 percent since '(((,. The grade cross-collisions rates ha"e fallen

almost ,8 percent since '((( $


24/37

Reduced Train Accidents

Rd dE l


25/37

Reduced EmployeeInjuries

Rd G d C


26/37

Reduces Grade CrossCollisions


27/37

Operational Safety• Under the federal regulations& the railway

industry is re@uired to meet up to the standardsthat ha"e een laid down to ensure operationalsafety.

• Rail-road industry has een carrying out rigorousinspection protocols.

• Aside from eing suected to inspections& therail-road industry is oligated to pro"ideemployee training to ensure e=ecti"eness of theoperational sta=. $


28/37

FRA Report Results• As a result of the e>tensi"e federal regulations

and increased amount of in"estments madespeci;cally to impro"e rail-road safety& the o"erallresults of these e=orts ha"e turned out to e

highly positi"e.

• FRA released a report that showed some greatresults regarding how rail-road accidents ha"e

reduced therey ensuring greater safety.


29/37

FRA Report Results• The report re"ealed that the numer of accidents

caused due to di=ering factors reduced to agreater e>tent.

• 5uman Factor Caused Accidents went down toalmost 68 percent.

• Accidents caused due to trac defects went down8' percent suggesting that the railway tracs had

impro"ed signi;cantly.

• Accidents caused as a result of faulty e@uipmentwent down almost ,0 percent.


30/37

FRA Report Results


31/37

FRA Report Results

Ft Sft


32/37

Future SafetyImprovements

• Although the current federal regulations andincreased in"estment plans ha"e signi;cantlyimpro"ed the o"erall safety of the rail roads& there isstill a lot of wor to e done.

• erhaps the greatest amount of focus that needs toe gi"en is to the impro"ement of the design of thetan cars that are ept within the trains.

• De"eloping ne>t-generation tan cars wouldimpro"e the safety of the transportation system to agreater e>tent.

F th Sft


33/37

Further SafetyImprovements

• The ha#ardous material transportation hasincreased tremendously o"er the past few years.

• +"en though FRA has performed e=ecti"ely inreducing the rates of the accidents& there are stillmany railroads that do not meet the federalstandards and regulations that ha"e een laiddown.

• +nsuring that each railroad transportation systemfollows the safety regulations should e a priority.


34/37

Conclusion

• There are "arious rail road safety agencies thatha"e een functioning as a part of the U.Sdepartment of transportation.

• +ach of these agencies is responsile forperforming ey roles that ultimately ensure thatthe transportation of ha#ardous materials is

carried out in the safest way possile.


35/37

Conclusion• The safety standards and the regulations that

ha"e een designed as part of the transportationact are to e followed y all transportationfaculties to ensure that utmost le"el of safety can

e reached.

• Agencies such as FRA and 5%SA ha"e eenstri"ing to de"elop strategies and come up with

e=ecti"e ways to o"ercome the "ariousoperational and administrati"e ostacles thatthey face in order to pro"ide a safe mode oftransportation for potentially ha#ardous

materials.


36/37

References• Fact Sheet& F. Retrie"ed '6 %arch '()0& from https!??

www.fra.dot.go"?ei?Details?)9,6'

• %oses& . N.& E indstrom& D. $+ds.*. $'()'*. Transportationof ha#ardous materials! ssues in law& social science& andengineering. Springer Science E


37/37

References• urdy& H. $)//,*. Ris analysis of the

transportation of dangerous goods y road andrail. Gournal of 5a#ardous materials& ,,$'*& ''/-'8/.

• Berma& %. $'((/*. A cost and e>pectedconse@uence approach to planning and managingrailroad transportation of ha#ardous materials.

Transportation research part D! transport and

en"ironment& )6$8*& ,((-,(.

Date post:	07-Jul-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	james
View:	218 times
Download:	0 times

Comprehensive review of Federal railroad safety and Hazard materials transportation

Documents