CLEVELAND, June 14 — Congress should hold the rail industry’s “feet to the fire” to make sure front line railroad workers receive adequate security training.
That’s according to Thomas Pontolillo, the BLET’s Director of Regulatory Affairs, who testified yesterday before the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Railroads regarding railroad security and the transportation of hazardous materials.
In light of terrorist attacks on railroads in Madrid and London, the U.S. rail industry has failed to ramp up security training for its workers. To correct this oversight, he urged the U.S. Congress to become involved.
“To the extent that security and safety are intertwined, we urge the Congress to continue to work toward legislation that will enhance security on the nation’s railroads,” Pontolillo testified. “(The BLET) will continue to lead the fight for the sufficiently-sized and trained workforce that is necessary to improve industry safety, and we urge the Subcommittee to hold the industry’s feet to the fire, particularly concerning hazmat training.”
The hearing addressed several issues, including: routing requirements for rail hazmat shipments; current federal rail hazmat requirements; compulsory legal duty to transport; liability exposure; and pre-emption of state tort liability law.
Brother Pontolillo’s testimony focused on five key issues relating to the transportation of hazardous materials and BLET members: security, staffing, training, accident causation, and technological and operational concerns. Brother Pontolillo said that the five issues are intertwined, especially the issues of safety and security and urged the subcommittee to introduce and pass legislation that addresses these issues.
Staffing shortages, which have lead to a fatigued workforce, must be addressed to improve the industry’s safety record.
“As the successors of the Baby Boom generation of railroad workers are being integrated into the industry, severe challenges with respect to both staffing levels and worker training have arisen; challenges that could negatively impact safety.”
Pontolillo also urged the FRA and rail industry to begin root cause analysis of accidents instead of blaming the workforce.
“We ask the industry to — once and for all — acknowledge that accident prevention only begins, rather than ends, with pointing the finger of blame at the last human being who made a mistake. We believe FRA should conduct Root Cause Analysis of a representative sample of hazmat accidents prior to undertaking any regulatory action concerning operating procedures, whether at its own initiative or in response to legislation sponsored by this Subcommittee. And we urge the Subcommittee to support adequate funding for FRA to accomplish any goal you may set.”
He also asked that the subcommittee urge the railroads to better plan, in conjunction with all involved in hazardous materials transportation, for the aftermath of accidents.
“Railroads and the communities through which they operate should share a common plan for emergency response to hazardous materials accidents, and railroad workers — who are on the front line of the operation — should be conversant with those plans. This is even more critical as DOE ramps up shipments of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, a subject that should receive increased attention from all stakeholders,” Brother Pontolillo said.
In addition to Brother Pontolillo, the following individuals testified before the subcommittee: Honorable Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.), U.S. House of Representatives; Honorable Joseph Boardman, Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration; Robert Chipkevich, Director, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Office of Railroad, Pipeline, and Hazardous Materials Investigations; Edward Hamberger, President and Chief Executive Officer , Association of American Railroads; Richard F. Timmons, President, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association; Thomas D. Simpson, Executive Director – Washington, Railway Supply Institute; Martin Durbin, Managing Director Federal Affairs, American Chemistry Council; Steven Bell, Battalion Chief, Augusta Fire Department; Lawrence M. Mann, American Trial Lawyers Association; and James R. Beardsley, Managing Director, National Rail Transportation Practice Aon Risk Services, Inc.
During his introductory remarks, Representative Robert Simmons (R-Conn.) noted several issues that were summarized in the Teamsters’ report, “High Alert: Workers Warn of Security Gaps on Nation’s Railroads.” He mentioned the statistics regarding hazardous materials and police presence in rail yards during his remarks, including the fact that 59 percent of respondents had seen hazardous materials in their rail yard on a particular day; 86 percent had noted their rail yard was in close proximity to schools, government buildings, densely populated areas or other likely terrorist targets; and 96 percent noted no police presence in their rail yard.
For a copy of Brother Pontolillo’s testimony, go to:
https://www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/testimonyblet.pdf