FRA/PHMSA conduct “Operation Classification” enforcement action.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) continue to respond to the disastrous railroad derailment in La Megantic, Quebec on July 6th, 2013. In that incident, an unmanned and unattended Montreal, Maine, & Atlantic (MM&A) freight train carrying crude oil derailed after a brake failure and subsequent uncontrolled descent down a grade outside the small Canadian town, suffering the explosion of several of its cars as well as the ignition of a catastrophic fire in the town center and killing an estimated forty-seven residents.
Both the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) and the US agencies named above have since imposed a variety of actions on the rail industry as a result of the accident. In the November 20th, 2013 issue of the Federal Register, PHMSA/FRA issued a follow up Safety Advisory to their actions of last summer. The new advisory points out the continuing emphasis on correct classification of hazardous materials; specifically, it calls on the rail industry to verify that the correct Packing Group (I, II, or III) is assigned to the various grades of crude oils that are being carried in unit trains across both the United States and Canada. Crude Oil production has increased dramatically in both countries with the introduction of the hydraulic fracturing method of oil recovery and the exploitation of what are known as “Tar Sands” in the Canadian Midwest. In the La Megantic incident, although it remains under investigation, speculation has been rife that the contents of the train were allegedly mistakenly classified as the less volatile Packing Group III, when instead upon investigation the cargo allegedly exhibited the flash point characteristics of Packing Group II. (See US 49 CFR 173.121 for information about the correct assignment of Packing Groups to Class 3 Hazardous Materials) The consequences of this alleged misclassification and its possible impact on the severity of the accident remain unclear; however, that notwithstanding, PHMSA and FRA are announcing the launch of “Operation Classification” which is described as “a compliance investigation initiative involving unannounced inspections and testing by PHMSA and FRA to verify the material classification and packing group assignments selected and certified by offerors of petroleum crude oil.” (Ref: Docket #: PHMSA-2013-0254; Notice No. 13-09 and FRA Safety Advisory 2013-07) As assistance to offerors, the advisory delineates the available classifications and packing group assignments for both Petroleum Crude Oil UN 1267 and Petroleum Sour Crude Oil UN 3494. Interestingly however, the domestic classification NA 1270, which also refers to Petroleum Oil and falls under the same bulk packing instructions (US 49 CFR 173.242/243) as UN 1267 and UN 3494, is left unaddressed.
The advisory additionally directs railroad operating companies to review their now in-place “Safety & Securement” plans for trains carrying hazardous materials that are to be left unattended on mainline tracks or outside of rail yards. The directive creating these plans was initially issued in FRA Emergency Order 28 (EO 28) of August 7th; these plans are a separate entity from the safety and security plans that were already required by the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR). In this new advisory, the two agencies direct carriers to re-evaluate the risks of leaving the equipment subject to the new plan(s) unattended and to review and revise the plans as/if necessary to also take into account the underlying risk assessments required by the HMR.
The tragic accident in La Megantic has already had significant impacts on the burgeoning rail carriage of crude oil in both the United States and Canada; the new November 20th advisory shows that the regulatory agencies involved in the investigation and associated enforcement actions will continue to take action they deem appropriate to address in a timely fashion any safety issues they uncover in their ongoing efforts. Labelmaster, a full-service provider of hazardous materials transportation and safety items, offers a complete line of products to assist shippers with their compliance needs.
Link to today’s advisory in the Federal Register: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-11-20/pdf/2013-27785.pdf
Note: An identical advisory also appears under the FRA section of the Federal Register, since it is a joint issuance.
