The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on March 31 released a series of proposed standards and safety regulations for tank cars carrying toxic-by-inhalation chemicals such as anhydrous ammonia and chlorine. The safety regulations are the “most sweeping and revolutionary proposal in decades,” according to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters.
“This proposal is designed to significantly reduce the hazard of hauling hazardous materials by rail,” Peters said, noting that the performance-based standard will increase by 500 percent on average the amount of energy the tank car must absorb during a train accident before a catastrophic failure may occur.
The proposal requires tank cars carrying TIH commodities to be equipped with puncture-resistance protection strong enough to prevent penetration at speeds of 25 mph for side impacts and 30 mph for head-on collisions, which the FRA says is more than double the speed for existing tank cars. The proposal allows flexibility in reaching that goal, but it is expected the outer tank car shell and both head ends will be strengthened, the inner tank holding the hazmat cargo will be better shielded, and the space between the two will be designed with more energy absorption and protection capabilities.
The proposed rule also sets a maximum speed limit of 50 mph for any train carrying TIH tank cars. In addition, a temporary speed restriction of 30 mph is being proposed for all TIH tank cars that do not meet the puncture-resistance standard and are traveling in non-signaled or “dark” territories, until the rule is fully implemented or other safety measures are installed. These dark areas currently make up about half of the nation’s rail lines.
The proposed rule also requires that some of the oldest TIH tank cars in use today be phased out on an accelerated schedule. The rule specifically targets TIH tank cars manufactured prior to 1989 with non-normalized steel, which the FRA believes “may not adequately resist the development of fractures that can lead to a catastrophic failure.” Under the proposal, all pre-1989 tank cars that carry TIH chemicals would be removed from service within five years. Such a standard would force the industry to replace an estimated 15,300 tank cars in the next eight years; the FRA estimates the cost at $350 million, spread over 30 years.
The proposal was developed by the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration in close consultation with the Federal Railroad Administration. “When the opportunity to make major advances in safety is within our reach, we should not settle for incremental measures,” Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman said.
Chemical industry participants also weighed in on the tank car proposals, including The Fertilizer Institute. “We have been working with FRA and with Association of American Railroads (AAR) for over a year,” said Pam Guffain, TFI’s vice president of member services. “We’re pleased that we finally got the proposed rule out.”
Although the proposed regulations held few surprises for TFI, Guffain said the industry was expecting a longer period to replace the older tank cars, and would likely raise that point with the FRA during a 60-day public comment period. “Our fleet is relatively young, averaging 10-15 years,” she said, noting that efforts were made to remove non-normalized tank cars from service after the 2002 derailment in Minot, N.D., which caused an ammonia release that claimed the life of one local resident. “The industry has made a good effort over the last several years to get those out of service, and those that are still being used are on a time schedule to be retired.”
Guffain said the proposed speed limits for TIH tank cars “could be a factor in delivery times,” but she praised the DOT for looking at the safety issue “in a holistic way, and not just at tank car design.”
The debate over tank car design and the safe transportation of TIH chemicals has been a contentious one at times between TFI and the AAR. As recently as March 12 (GM March 17, p. 1), TFI issued a pointed response to recent statements made by AAR President and CEO Edward Hamberger calling on chemical companies to stop manufacturing dangerous products that it claimed could be “replaced by safer substitutes or new technologies.” TFI President Ford West said in a statement that TFI took “vigorous exception” to Hamberger’s remarks, and that public safety would be better served if AAR refocused its efforts on “doing whatever is necessary to continue the safe and secure delivery of these critical materials.”
AAR officials announced last week that they would postpone their own new voluntary tank car safety standard, scheduled to go into effect April 1, while they review the 186-page federal plan.
After the public comment period, the FRA may revise the proposal before issuing final rules. Boardman said he wants to have the new rules in place before the Bush administration leaves office in January 2009, and expects them to be implemented by the end of 2008.
The Agricultural Retailers Association said it shares TFI’s concern about the time frame for tank car replacement. ARA also fears the newer cars would be heavier and could carry less product, driving up transportation costs. “We are concerned about less service from the railroads,” said ARA’s Richard Gupton. “Many ag retail locations could not handle heavier railcars.”