The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and another nonprofit a grant designed to help improve the response to hazardous materials transportation accidents around the country.
CVSA and the Sustainable Workplace Alliance, nonprofits focusing on road and workplace safety, respectively, will split a $1 million grant, the department announced Oct. 11. The funds must target training state and municipal personnel on the transport of hazardous materials.
The Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which coordinated the grant, said it identified a need for such training.
“Local law enforcement personnel perform a critical role in ensuring that hazardous materials are moved safely, and this grant will provide them with the training and education they need to continue to serve and protect our communities,” PHMSA Administrator Marie Therese Dominguez said.
“These new grants will help to provide the resources necessary to train the state and local personnel responsible for enforcing hazardous materials safety requirements across the country,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx added.
From Oct. 16 through Oct. 22, CVSA will host its annual Operation Safe Driver Week, sponsored with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.