Shippers, Railroads Differ On Tank Car Design

Chemical shippers and railroad carriers disagreed last week at a Department of Transportation (DOT) hearing over how to improve the safety and security of tank cars that carry materials that are toxic when inhaled, such as chlorine and anhydrous ammonia.

Two DOT agencies, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, held the May 31 public meeting to review tank car research and design and railroad operating practices associated with the movement of toxic-by-inhalation (TIH) commodities.

The danger ruptured tank cars can pose to a community was underscored most recently in January 2005 when a train crash in Graniteville, S.C., released a cloud of chlorine gas, resulting in nine deaths, hundreds of injuries, and extensive property damage. That was the third fatal rail accident involving TIH commodities since 2002.

Congress has directed DOT to enhance tank car standards, but a final rule is probably several years away. Bob Fronczak, assistant vice president for environment and hazardous materials at the Association of American Railroads (AAR), told DOT officials that the freight rail industry is considering new design standards for tank cars that could be implemented quickly.

He noted that researchers at the University of Illinois have concluded that, with existing technology, the likelihood of a release can be cut by 65% or more by replacing the 263,000-lb tank cars currently in operation with 286,000-lb cars "equipped with additional head protection, thicker shells, and enhanced top fittings protection."

But shippers of industrial and agricultural chemicals stressed that any changes in tank car design should be based on congressionally mandated research now being conducted by DOT's Volpe National Transportation Center, which is examining the crashworthiness of rail equipment. Findings from the center's tank car research are expected to be available by early next year.

Frank Reiner, the Chlorine Institute's vice president of transportation and emergency preparedness, called on DOT to undertake a "risk-benefit analysis" of any proposed enhancement to tank cars. Reiner also reported that the institute has begun its own engineering study of chlorine rail car design and promised to provide the results when the study is completed this summer.

Joe Giesler, senior vice president of commercial operations for nitrogen fertilizer producer Terra Industries, expressed concern with AAR's efforts to redesign ammonia rail tank cars. "We disagree with the stance the railroads have taken by trying to impose a new tank car design without regard for its impact on overall safety," he remarked.

Giesler, who spoke on behalf of the Fertilizer Institute, said the "heavier is better" approach to tank car safety fails to consider potential adverse effects, including "the likely significant increase in truck shipments due to track restrictions that prevent many facilities from receiving the heavier cars, as well as the higher cost of rail transportation that heavier cars will impose upon ammonia shippers."