Between 2006 and 2008 nearly half of serious hazardous-materials spills on U.S. highways, railroads, airstrips and waterways went unreported to the U.S. Department of Transportation, reports Peter Eisler of USA Today. The newspaper was provided the list of 1,199 unreported spills gathered by the DOT through emergency response agencies. The list details 21 spills in our home state, Kentucky; how many went unreported in your area?
The DOT says accurate incident data is important to ensuring haz-mat carriers operate safely, but it has fined only seven carriers since 2006 for not reporting a spill, Eisler writes. "It is (the agency's) responsibility to take some type of enforcement action," Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation Committee, told Eisler, adding he plans to explore the issue at a hearing Thursday.
American Trucking Association Vice President Rich Moskowitz tells Eisler that smaller carriers may not know the reporting rules and better outreach to the industry is needed. The DOT's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration began compiling unreported serious incidents that caused substantial evacuations, major road closures, serious injuries or release of especially dangerous materials in 2005. (Read more)
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