(The following article by Robert Schroeder was posted on the MarketWatch website on December 19.)
WASHINGTON — In an effort to safeguard big cities from terrorist attacks, the government proposed tougher rules Friday for freight rail carriers that move certain types of chemicals through densely populated areas.
Announced by the Homeland Security Department and the Transportation Department, the proposed requirements would tighten procedures for shipping toxic chemicals, put in place security checks for transferring custody of rail cars in big cities, and appoint a coordinator to report to the government.
Rail carriers would have to use data to figure out the safest route to ship the hazardous materials, the government said.
Explosives and radioactive substances are also covered under the proposal.
The rules address a small number of chemicals that are shipped by rail. Shipments of the affected chemicals represent less than 1% of all rail shipments, the government said. The affected category of chemicals, called toxic inhalation hazard materials, includes chlorine and anhydrous ammonia.
The vulnerability of freight trains to attack has been a bone of contention for federal officials since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the rules would go a long way toward protecting cities from potentially deadly emissions.
“A toxic emission from an attack against a chemical facility or hazardous chemicals in transit is among the most serious risks facing America’s highest threat areas,” Chertoff said in a statement Friday. “We’re going to take a significant percentage of that risk off the table.”
The government proposed fining violators up to $10,000 a day for each security violation.
The public has 60 days to comment on the rule, beginning Dec. 21.