Security & Safety Briefs - Feb. 17 - Feb. 23
The Latest Headlines:
- DOT Splits RSPA into Two Agencies
- GAO Cites U.S. Regulatory Overlap in Food Safety
- Negroponte Named National Intelligence Director
- Largest Wabash Dealer to Sell Gabriel Security Systems
- GAO Cites U.S. Regulatory Overlap in Food Safety
DOT Splits RSPA into Two Agencies
The Department of Transportation’s Research and Special Programs Administration was officially divided into two agencies on Feb. 20, implementing plans announced earlier.Named for the current DOT secretary, the Norman Mineta Research and Special Programs Improvement Act split RSPA into separate agencies to oversee the transportation of hazardous materials and to conduct research.
Secretary Mineta said the hazmat agency, named the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, would “oversee safety of the more than 800,000 daily shipments of hazardous materials” in the U.S., plus the network of pipelines.
GAO Cites U.S. Regulatory Overlap in Food Safety
While regulation of food safety is divided among 12 agencies in the United States, a government study found that seven countries that created a single agency to oversee food-safety rules reduced regulatory overlap, the Associated Press reported.The Government Accountability Office report said the patchwork U.S. system is not adequate to protect against new threats, AP said.
GAO investigators could not determine whether consolidation reduced food-borne illness in the seven countries — Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom — because too many other factors were involved, AP said.
The report did not explicitly recommend consolidation of U.S. agencies but said more efficient and better-targeted inspections would outweigh the potential drawbacks of higher costs to acquire buildings and laboratory equipment, AP reported. Transport Topics
Negroponte Named National Intelligence Director
President Bush Thursday nominated John Negroponte, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and currently the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, to be the first national intelligence director, news services reported.The nomination is subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Negroponte said if confirmed he plans to reform the intelligence community in ways to meet the intelligence needs of the 21st century, the Associated Press reported.
Bush also named Lt. Gen. Mike Hayden, who has served as director of the National Security Agency since March 1999, to Negroponte’s deputy, AP said. Transport Topics
Largest Wabash Dealer to Sell Gabriel Security Systems
Gabriel Technologies Corp., which makes transportation security products, said Thursday it signed an agreement with the nation's largest Wabash Trailer dealership giving the dealer rights to sell its trailer-security systems.The dealer, Wick's Truck Trailers, will market and distribute Gabriel products including truck and trailer kingpin and rear-door locks.
Gabriel said its systems, known as War-Lok, are designed to help security for the trucking, rail, intermodal and marine sectors. Transport Topics
