Security Briefs - Nov. 4 - Nov. 10

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The Latest Headlines:

• D.C. Council Rejects Hazmat Measure for Railroads
• RSPA Requires 'Non-Odorized' Markings
• Utah Seeks Ruling on Nuclear Waste

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D.C. Council Rejects Hazmat Measure for Railroads

The D.C. Council on Tuesday rejected legislation that would have barred railroads from shipping hazardous materials through the nation's capital, the Washington Post reported.

Opponents of the bill said CSX Corp. had already agreed to reroute the most dangerous freight from its Washington, D.C., line at the Bush administration's request, the Post reported. They also said federal law prohibits states or the District from unilaterally restricting interstate commerce.

Just before the vote, a spokesman for Mayor Anthony Williams said he would not sign the bill if it passed, though the mayor had said the opposite two weeks ago. The spokesman said the measure would not have withstood a court challenge by the federal agency or the railroad, according to the Post. Transport Topics

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RSPA Requires 'Non-Odorized' Markings

The Research and Special Programs Administration issued a final rule Nov. 4 requiring haulers of “non-odorized” hazardous materials to place markings on their cargo containers to warn first responders. Some types of propane are non-odorized materials.

Cliff Harvison, president the National Tank Truck Carriers, said the change was “common sense” and relatively minor. “A lot of carriers already do this,” he said.

RSPA said it would also allow:

Use of the Pantone Formula — an industry guide for the colors of hazard warnings and placards.

Expanded use of warning labels for some types of compressed gas.

Permit carriers to remove the fumigant marking from a vehicle or container before unloading, if it has “undergone sufficient aeration.”

The agency said the proposed changes would go into effect Oct. 1, 2005. Sean McNally

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Utah Seeks Ruling on Nuclear Waste

Utah’s governor and attorney general asked the Supreme Court Oct. 29 to decide who had authority over the transportation and storage of nuclear waste, the Associated Press reported.

Gov. Olene Walker and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff announced the filing of a petition with the high court to review an August ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

That ruling upheld a lower court that rejected Utah laws enacted to block a nuclear waste repository proposed for the Goshutes’ Skull Valley reservation in western Utah, AP said.

The federal government alone has complete authority to license and regulate the transportation and storage of high-level nuclear waste, the Denver-based court ruled.

The appeal court sided with a lower judge that laws enacted between 1998 and 2001 to prevent the storage of 40,000 tons of nuclear waste on the tribal lands conflicted with federal law, AP said. Transport Topics

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