Security & Safety Briefs - Oct. 28 - Nov. 3
The Latest Headlines:
- Washington State Votes to Limit Nuclear Waste Shipments
- FMCSA Delays Security Test Results
- Officials: Some Hazmat Trains Rerouted Away From D.C.
- FMCSA to Change Enforcement Rules
- FMCSA Delays Security Test Results
Washington State Votes to Limit Nuclear Waste Shipments
Voters in Washington state on Tuesday approved an initiative to limit the amount of nuclear waste at the Hanford nuclear site, news services reported.Initiative 297 blocks the Department of Energy from trucking more waste to the Hanford nuclear site until all the existing waste there is cleaned up, the Associated Press reported.
The reservation in south-central Washington, which was created in World War II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb, remains the most contaminated site in the nation, KOMO-TV reported on its Web site.
FMCSA Delays Security Test Results
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration told Transport Topics last week the agency would not publish the final results of a field-operation test of security technologies for hazardous material trucks before the end of October."We’re in the final stages of preparing the report," agency spokesman Dave Longo said. "We expect to publish the results very shortly."
Earlier, the agency had said the results would be published by the end of October. Sean McNally
Officials: Some Hazmat Trains Rerouted Away From D.C.
Three House members and the Department of Homeland Security said that CSX Corp. had redirected rail shipments of hazardous materials away from Washington since the March 11 commuter train bombings in Madrid, the Washington Post reported.However, Homeland officials have said rerouting raises more security problems than it solves and have delayed a long-term decision on an issue that has been studied for eight months, the Post said.
Last week, Anthony Williams, mayor of Washington, D.C., said he would sign an emergency measure keeping trains with hazardous cargo out of the city if the federal government does not enact a similar law by Nov. 9. (Click here for more information.)
About 6 million tons of chemical freight pass through the District a year, according to the National Capital Planning Commission. Only a fraction, fewer than 1,000 cars, carry toxic inhalants that cause the most concern, officials told the Post. Transport Topics
FMCSA to Change Enforcement Rules
House Republicans have inserted language into legislation revamping the U.S. intelligence system that would allow the Homeland Security secretary to waive any federal law interfering with construction of a 14-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, the Washington Post reported.The measure gives the Homeland Security secretary the right to skirt all laws he determines "necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under this section."
The fence has been under construction since 1996 and runs between the Pacific Ocean and the Otay Mountain Wilderness along the San Diego-Tijuana border, the Post said. It was not completed because of environmental challenges. Transport Topics
