Introduction
When carriers load, transport and unload hazardous materials, the unexpected can happen even when all safety procedures have been followed. When an incident occurs the shipper and their employees need to be aware of what to do, and who to report the incident to. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Admin and the Department of Transport require that carriers follow the regulations in 49 CFR 171.15 and 171.16 which govern the reporting of hazardous material incidents.
49 CFR 171.15
This regulation describes the regulations for incident reporting and the information needed by the carrier. The regulation requires that the incident is reported immediately but no later than twelve hours after the actual incident took place. The incident should always be reported to the National Response Center (NRC) by telephone or a report can be entered via the internet. If the incident involves a biological material that could lead to the public being infected, the incident must also be reported to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta by telephone.
A telephone report must be made to the NRC is certain criteria are met. These are listed below.
- A person is killed
- A person receives an injury requiring admittance to a hospital
- The general public is evacuated for one hour or more
- A major transportation artery or facility is closed or shut down for one hour or more
- The operational flight pattern or routine of an aircraft is altered
- Fire, breakage, spillage, or suspected radioactive contamination occurs involving a radioactive material
- Fire, breakage, spillage, or suspected contamination occurs involving an infectious substance
- During transportation by aircraft, a fire, violent rupture, explosion or dangerous evolution of heat occurs as a direct result of a battery or battery-powered device
- A release of a marine pollutant occurs in a quantity exceeding 450 liters (119 gallons) for a liquid or 400 kg (882 pounds) for a solid
There is certain information that is required by the NRC when a report of an incident is made by telephone or via the internet. The basic information required includes the name, address, phone number of the reporter, as well as the date, time and location of the hazardous material incident. The NRC requires the class or division, proper shipping name, and quantity of hazardous materials involved in the incident. The report must include the type of incident and how the hazardous material was involved.
49 CFR 171.16
This regulation determines the content of the written report that must be made to the NRC after a hazardous material incident. The report has to be made by the person who was in possession of the hazardous material at the time of the incident. The written incident must be submitted to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration within thirty days of the incident using DOT Form F 5800.1. If the incident occurred on board an aircraft the report must also be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The report must include the details of the incident that were originally given to the NRC either by telephone or online. Additionally the report must specify if any unintentional release of a hazardous material or the discharge of any quantity of hazardous waste occurred during the incident. If the incident occurred and no hazardous material was expected to be found, that undeclared hazardous material must be reported. The carrier must also report to the PHMSA any damage to a cargo tank with a capacity over 1000 gallons, or if any repair has been made to the cargo tank, even if there was no discharge of hazardous material.
Reporting Methods
The PHMSA has a number of items that carriers can receive explaining the incident reporting process such as pamphlets, CD ROM’s, and training materials. In addition carriers can download the incident forms from the Hazardous Materials website (http://hazmat.dot.gov). Carriers can enter the incident via the internet using an interactive electronic form or fax the incident form directly to the PHMSA.
