CLEVELAND, April 4 — Democratic Members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security blasted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for its failure to issue mandatory security standards for the nation’s railroads to safeguard the transportation of toxic chemicals.
Fifteen members of the Homeland Security Committee sent a letter to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff on April 3, demanding an explanation why his department, on March 31, issued voluntary security guidelines for railroads instead of enforceable regulations.
The Democrats also question why the railroads are not held to the same high security standards as other modes of transportation.
“The Coast Guard already mandates security standards in our nation’s ports, both to protect our economic infrastructure and to protect the people living nearby,” the Committee wrote. “The Department should be doing the same thing for the elements of the rail system used to transport TIH (Toxic-By-Inhalation materials) and other hazardous materials.”
Each day hundreds of thousands of rail shipments of extremely hazardous materials travel through densely populated areas and near critical infrastructure such as bridges and power plants. Enough chlorine to kill 100,000 people in half an hour is routinely contained in a single rail tanker car that rolls right through crowded urban centers without adequate security protection.
In the letter, dated April 3, the Committee members write: “We are extremely disappointed with your decision not to require railroads to meet certain security standards regarding the movement of toxic-by-inhalation (TIH) materials by rail. Instead, you have decided to issue recommended security actions that are purely voluntary.
“It is time for your Department to take a more active role in securing our nation’s rail systems. Terrorists have already targeted rail systems in the past few years.”
The Democratic committee members also write: “Our nation depends on your Department to ensure there is some level of baseline security to prevent terrorist attacks on TIH materials transported by rail, and to reduce the consequences of such an attack. Voluntary standards are not enough.”
The committee members argue that enforceable regulations need to be put in place, echoing the sentiments of the BLET and other rail labor organizations.
The BLET, as a member of the Teamsters Rail Conference, has publicly expressed concern about glaring security oversights on the nation’s railroads. Those concerns were summarized in the Teamsters’ report, “High Alert: Workers Warn of Security Gaps on Nation’s Railroads.”
For a PDF of the letter, go to:
https://www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/ChertoffTIH.pdf
A copy of the High Alert report is available at:
http://www.teamster.org/divisions/rail/pdfs/railsecuritybook.pdf