By Ron Thaniel
January 31, 2005

Nearly two weeks after the January 6 deadly freight train crash in Graniteville (SC) the nation's mayors urged the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to conduct an immediate assessment of freight railroad notification procedures for the transport of hazardous materials through local jurisdictions.

In the South Carolina crash, nine people were killed, 58 were hospitalized, hundreds more sought treatment and for days after the crash, and thousands of people were kept from their homes. Conference Energy Standing Committee Chair Augusta (GA) Mayor Bob Young, compared the Graniteville crash to the detonation of a weapon of mass destruction, and noted that "The United States Conference of Mayors has repeatedly called for advanced notification of these rail shipments so city officials are aware of what is going through their neighborhoods and business districts."

One month after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the nation, The United States Conference of Mayors brought together more than 200 mayors, police and fire chiefs, and emergency managers to Washington to examine the new and challenging issues confronting the vast majority of Americans who live in cities. One of the major issues areas identified in the Conference's "National Action Plan for Safety and Security in America's Cities" was "Freight Rail Security."

Within this section, the first recommendation was, "Freight railroads should be required to develop new notification procedures and to provide better information to the local jurisdictions through which they will be transporting chemicals and other hazardous materials.

The second recommendation was, "Improved notification and information should extend to the storage of freight on sidings and to other practices that could pose risks to immediate neighborhoods and major local assets and venue.

Since September 11, the Conference has worked directly with the Administration and Congress and applauds their efforts to safeguard the nation's aviation system. However, the Conference continues to express urgent concern that nation's other transportation modes, including freight rail, require an equal homeland security commitment. Safeguarding and improved notification of hazmat freight is especially urgent with homeland security warnings that terrorist might be planning to attack trains in the United States, possibly causing derailments or blowing up tank cars laden with hazardous materials.

As expressed in the letter to DHS and DOT, more than 90,000 shipments of Chlorine alone are transported across the country every year. These types of trains run on tracks through the hearts of our cities. Our citizens should have a reasonable expectation that hazardous materials are being shipped in the safest manner possible and that local first responders are aware of such shipments in advance.