The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would align hazardous materials regulations more closely with international transport standards and requirements. Comments on the rulemaking are due by March 28, 2006.
The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is required by federal hazardous materials transportation law to “align the hazardous materials regulations with international transport standards and requirements to the extent practicable,” and has, therefore, issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to revise and reformat requirements for the authorization to use international transport standards and regulations. The goal of the proposed rule would be to provide a more user friendly format for consolidating regulations affecting hazardous materials transport by air, rail, road and in maritime commerce.
“Consistency between U.S. and international regulations helps to assure the safety of hazardous materials transportation through better understanding of the regulations, an increased level of industry compliance, the smooth flow of hazardous materials from their points of origin to their points of destination, and consistent emergency response in the event of a hazardous materials incident,” according to the notice published in the Federal Register.
Included in the discussion are the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, the Canadian Transport of Dangerous Goods Regulations and the International Atomic Energy Agency Safety Standards Series: Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material.
To review the docket docket, PHMSA-2005-23141 (HM 215F), click on “open dockets” and scroll down to PHMSA to locate the specific docket.
Source: PHMSA, Logistics Today.
