FMCSA Says it Will Revisit Hazmat Carriers

WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it will revisit approximately 1,500 hazardous material carriers, beginning this spring, to advise them to take certain security steps to prevent the threat of turning a cargo into a weapon of mass destruction, said William A. Quade, chief of the agency’s hazardous materials division.

The visits will concentrate on carriers, who handle munitions and certain other chemicals, said Quade. FMCSA visited some 30,000 carriers after the 9/11 attacks and the follow-up visit in the next several months is anticipated to coincide with new government security rules affecting hazmat carriers. Quade said the government is looking to see what progress has been made in advance of any future rules.

He made his remarks to about 200 people who gathered Jan. 12 at one of the first sessions of the 82nd annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board.

TRB is a division of the National Research Council and promotes innovation and progress in transportation through research. The five-day event is scheduled to include 115 sessions devoted to security, congestion, safety and the reauthorization of the highway transportation bill.