INFORMATION SOURCES FOR FLOW ANALYSES OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

As increasing amounts of hazardous materials are transported in the United States, a significant concern has been the associated risk to public safety and the environment. Although a national reporting system for hazardous materials transport incidents exists, a companion data base on hazardous materials movements does not. Thus, it is difficult to monitor the activity level of hazardous materials movements and to assess the safety of the industry. Identified are potential sources of information to perform flow analyses of hazardous materials; the quality and usefulness of these data bases for diagnostic, policy planning, and evaluative needs are assessed. The study scope includes flow, fleet, and network utilization across the major modes of hazardous materials transport. Several important conclusions are reached about the applicability of existing information, in terms of both the way the information is collected and what it represents. Based on these conclusions, recommendations are made on how information reporting policies and practices can be improved to enhance the capability of analyzing hazardous materials transport.