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H A Z A R D O U S M A T E R I A L S C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M HMCRP REPORT 8 Evaluation of the Use of Electronic Shipping Papers for Hazardous Materials Shipments William H. Tate S. Robert Fredman Arthur H. Greenberg Thomas I. McSweeney Thomas J. Timcho Battelle MeMorial institute Columbus, OH Daniel C. Murray aMerican transportation research institute Arlington, VA Stephen A. Keppler coMMercial Vehicle safety alliance Greenbelt, MD Subscriber Categories Freight Transportation ⢠Motor Carriers TRANSPORTAT ION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2012 www.TRB.org Research sponsored by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM The safety, security, and environmental concerns associated with transportation of hazardous materials are growing in number and complexity. Hazardous materials are substances that are flammable, explosive, or toxic or that, if released, produce effects that would threaten human safety, health, the environment, or property. Hazardous materials are moved throughout the country by all modes of freight transportation, including ships, trucks, trains, airplanes, and pipelines. The private sector and a diverse mix of government agencies at all levels are responsible for controlling the transport of hazardous materials and for ensuring that hazardous cargoes move without incident. This shared goal has spurred the creation of several venues for organizations with related interests to work together in preventing and responding to hazardous materials incidents. The freight transportation and chemical industries; government regulatory and enforcement agencies at the federal and state levels; and local emergency planners and responders routinely share information, resources, and expertise. Nevertheless, there has been a long- standing gap in the system for conducting hazardous materials safety and security research. Industry organizations and government agencies have their own research programs to support their mission needs. Collaborative research to address shared problems takes place occasionally, but mostly occurs on an ad hoc basis. Acknowledging this gap in 2004, the U.S. DOT Office of Hazardous Materials Safety, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the U.S. Coast Guard pooled their resources for a study. Under the auspices of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the National Research Council of the National Academies appointed a committee to examine the feasibility of creating a cooperative research program for hazardous materials transportation, similar in concept to the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) and the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP). The committee concluded, in TRB Special Report 283: Cooperative Research for Hazardous Materials Transportation: Defining the Need, Converging on Solutions, that the need for cooperative research in this field is significant and growing, and the committee recommended establishing an ongoing program of cooperative research. In 2005, based in part on the findings of that report, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) authorized the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to contract with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct the Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program (HMCRP). The HMCRP is intended to complement other U.S. DOT research programs as a stakeholder-driven, problem-solving program, researching real-world, day-to-day operational issues with near- to mid- term time frames. Published reports of the HAZARDOUS MATERIALS COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at: http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America HMCRP REPORT 8 Project HM-05 ISSN 2150-4849 ISBN: 978-0-309-25831-9 Library of Congress Control Number 2012941224 © 2012 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, RITA, or PHMSA endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not- for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program, conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The members of the technical panel selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance. The report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, and the sponsors of the Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturersâ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. On the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, on its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academyâs purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board is one of six major divisions of the National Research Council. The mission of the Transporta- tion Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. The Boardâs varied activities annually engage about 7,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individu- als interested in the development of transportation. www.TRB.org www.national-academies.org
C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S CRP STAFF FOR HMCRP REPORT 8 Christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Crawford F. Jencks, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs William C. Rogers, Senior Program Officer Charlotte Thomas, Senior Program Assistant Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Doug English, Editor HMCRP PROJECT 05 PANEL Field of Hazardous Materials John L. Conley, National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc., Arlington, VA (Chair) David Brennan, International Air Transport Association, Geneva, Switzerland John Currie, International Vessel Operators Hazardous Materials Association, Inc., Queensbury, NY Samuel S. Elkind, United Parcel Service, Atlanta, GA Thomas Ferguson, Currie Associates, Inc., Queensbury, NY Francisco Gonzalez, III, FRA Liaison Ryan F. Paquet, PHMSA Liaison James Simmons, PHMSA Liaison George R. Famini, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Liaison Ann Purdue, TRB Liaison AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The research reported herein was performed under HMCRP Project 05 by Battelle, the contractor for this study. Mr. William Tate, Principal Research Scientist at Battelle, Columbus, OH, was the project director and principal investigator and the author of this report. Other contributors were the American Transportation Research Institute, Arlington, VA, Minneapolis, MN, and Atlanta, GA, led by Mr. Dan Murray, Vice President for Research; the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, Greenbelt, MD, initially led by Mr. Paul Bomgardner, Director of Administration, and later by Mr. Steve Keppler, Executive Direc- tor; and for Battelle, Dr. Arthur Greenberg, Senior Research Scientist; Mr. Robert Fredman, Technology Transfer Consultant; Mr. Tom Timcho, Senior Research Scientist; and Dr. Tom McSweeney, Research Leader, all located at Columbus, OH. The work was done under the general supervision of Mr. Tate.
F O R E W O R D HMCRP Report 8: Evaluation of the Use of Electronic Shipping Papers for Hazardous Materials Shipments examines the challenges of advancing the use of electronic shipping papers as an alternative to the current paper-based hazardous materials communication system. Paper copy hazardous materials shipping papers have several drawbacks: they are labor intensive and subject to human error; they are perishable and may not be available to emergency responders in the event of an incident; and they are difficult to exchange between modes or different vehicles within a mode. The use of internationally compatible electronic data-sharing technologies could significantly improve the exchange of hazardous materials shipping information among shippers, carriers, regulatory agencies, and emergency responders. Timely access to accurate hazardous materials shipping information will likely reduce errors in information exchange, improve efficiency, enhance security, and improve the response efforts in the event of a hazardous materials incident. Organizations representing shippers and carriers have expressed the need to improve the hazardous materials documentation process by allowing the option of electronic shipping papers, thereby enhancing transportation productivity and efficiency. Although there are no legal or regulatory prohibitions regarding the use of electronic shipping papers, cost, privacy, and lack of uniformity are factors that could restrict their adoption. Under HMCRP Project 05, Battelle was asked to develop a road map for the use of electronic shipping papers as an alternative to the current paper-based hazardous material communication system. To do so, the researchers examined the needs of key stakeholder groups including (1) motor carriers, railroads, ocean shippers, and cargo-carrying airlines; (2) emergency responders; (3) regulatory agencies; and (4) associations, organizations, and agencies affiliated with the preceding groups. The research examined current practices involving electronic transactions, including those applicable to hazardous materials trans- portation, and impediments to more widespread use of electronic shipping papers. The research resulted in a critical examination of how a unified electronic shipping paper system could emerge. This is expressed in a road map that demonstrates how affected stakeholders can implement an electronic hazardous materials documentation and data transfer system. It also identifies a methodology for proof-of-concept exercises designed to test the imple- mentation strategies and functionality of an electronic hazardous materials documentation and data transfer system identified by the road map. By William C. Rogers Staff Officer Transportation Research Board
C O N T E N T S 1 Summary 1 Introduction 2 Project Approach and Findings 11 Summary and Conclusions 13 Chapter 1 Background 13 1.1 Project Objectives 14 1.2 Problem Statement/Discussion 19 Chapter 2 Research Approach 20 2.1 Detail of Task 1 (Gather Information on Topics and Organizations) 24 2.2 Detail of Task 2 (Develop Sample Process Maps) 29 2.3 Detail of Task 3 (Submit Interim Report) 34 2.4 Detail of Task 4 (Submit Draft Road Map) 34 2.5 Detail of Task 5 (Propose Methodology for Proof-of-Concept Exercises) 35 2.6 Detail of Task 6 (Submit Road Map and Draft Final Report) 35 2.7 Detail of Task 7 (Respond to Panel Comments/Submit Final Report) 36 Chapter 3 Findings and Applications 36 3.1 Stakeholders and User Needs Summary 41 3.2 U.S. DOT Initiatives Related to ESP 44 3.3 Other Initiatives and Actions Related to ESP 45 3.4 Contexts and Issues 50 3.5 Discussion of ESP Implementation Challenges and Trade-Offs 55 3.6 Electronic Commerce System Standards and Standards Bodies/Organizations 58 3.7 Data Creation/Intake Methods 58 3.8 Existing Electronic Interchange Systems 59 3.9 Current Electronic Commerce Methods Meeting Hazmat Transport User Needs, and Their Challenges 60 3.10 Solution Alternatives 60 3.11 Attributes of Desired State System 63 3.12 Gap Analysis Between Current and Desired State 64 Chapter 4 Conclusions 64 4.1 Road Map 69 4.2 Methodology for Proof-of-Concept Exercises Designed to Test Implementation Strategies and Functionality 71 4.3 Use of This Report 71 4.4 Summary/Conclusions 74 References
76 Appendix A Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Terms 80 Appendix B Initial Research Interview Summary and Guideline 84 Appendix C Results of Initial Research Interviews 97 Appendix D Technology That Can Benefit Stand-Off Detection of ESP by Emergency Response and Regulatory Personnel Note: Many of the photographs, figures, and tables in this report have been converted from color to grayscale for printing. The electronic version of the report (posted on the Web at www.trb.org) retains the color versions.
