The U.S. Department of Transportation has published final rules giving hazardous materials shippers and carriers nine months to come up with a security plan and train workers on the specifics.

DOT’s Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), which oversees hazmat transportation safety, opted for general requirements rather than a list of specific items that must be included. The first step is an assessment of the security risks associated with the materials handled and measures to address those risks. No single assessment tool is required, but RSPA has made a security template available at http://hazmat.dot.gov/rmsef.htm.
The plans must include measures to confirm information provided by job applicants hired for positions that involve access to or handling of hazardous materials.
“We do not expect companies to confirm all of the information that a job applicant may provide as part of the application process,” the agency noted. “However, employees should make an effort to check information related to an applicant’s recent employment history, references and citizenship status. In short, we expect companies to take reasonable and prudent measures to address personnel security issues.”
They must also address the risk that unauthorized persons may gain access to hazardous materials or vehicles being prepared to transport those materials, as well as en route security, including storage incidental to movement. The plans must be in writing, should be updated as situations change, and must be retained for as long and they’re in effect.
RSPA said plans that conform to requirements of other federal or international agencies may satisfy these rules, but the reverse may not be true. For instance, an RSPA plan may not meet more stringent requirements for air cargo or radioactive material security.
Currently, employees who have access to or handle hazardous materials must have safety training, including potential dangers and the appropriate emergency response. This rule adds a required security element. General security awareness training must be given to all applicable employees on the first scheduled recurrent training after March 25, 2003 and no later than March 24, 2006. This should include awareness of security risks associated with hazardous materials transportation, methods to enhance security, and ways to recognize and respond to possible security threats.
Hazard communications programs required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, or other federal or international agencies may be used to satisfy this training as long as they address the specific requirements of this rule.
In-depth security training must be completed by Dec. 22, 2003 and must include the company security objectives, specific security procedures, employee responsibilities, actions to take in the event of a security breach, and the organizational security structure.
RSPA dropped a proposal that hazmat carriers be required to keep a copy of their current hazmat registration certificates in each vehicle used to transport hazardous materials. The agency said it proposed the rule as a way to help law enforcement officers determine if a carrier is a legitimate hazmat transporter. However, it agreed with the majority of commenters who argued that the registration program isn’t designed to determine legitimacy or security risk, thus the certificate is little more than a receipt for registration fees.
The agency also dropped a proposal that shipping papers include names and addresses of consignors and consignees, along with the DOT hazmat registration number, if applicable, of the person offering the shipment. Most commenters pointed out that registration numbers, like certificates, don’t say much about the potential security threat of the registrant. Yet adding the number would be a costly process requiring modifications to forms and computer systems of many shippers, freight forwarders, carriers and brokers.
Opponents to the addition of names and addressed said it was useless without a system in place to actually verify the consignor and consignee information. RSPA said it will consider other procedures for making consignor and consignee information available to law enforcement.
The final rule was published in the March 25 Federal Register which can be accessed at www.nara.gov/fedreg.