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Construction site layout optimization (CSLO) involves many important issues vital for the success of construction projects. One of the most important is the hazardous-material transportation (HT) problem. This paper concurrently considers CSLO and HT, namely the CSLO-HT problem, and proposes a bilevel multiobjective decision-making model (BMDMM). In this model, the upper-level decision-maker is the project manager, who aims to minimize site layout costs and economic losses from potential HT accidents. The lower-level decisionmaker is the carrier, to whom the HT work is subcontracted, and whose goal is to reduce transportation costs. To solve the proposed bi-level multiobjective model, a fuzzy random simulation-based bilevel multiobjective genetic algorithm (frs-BLMOGA) is proposed. The approach is then applied to a hydropower construction project to illustrate the performance of the proposed methodology. The results and further analyses of the methodology prove that both the project manager and the carrier can get benefits. Particularly, satisfactory CSLO-HT solutions are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study a novel toll setting policy to regulate hazardous material (hazmat) transportation, where the regulator (e.g., a government authority) aims at minimizing not only the network total risk but also at spreading the risk in an equitable way over a given road network. The idea is to use a toll setting policy to discourage carriers transporting hazmat from overloading portions of the network with the consequent increase of the risk exposure of the population involved. Specifically, we assume that the toll paid by a carrier on a network link depends on the usage of that link by all carriers. Therefore the route choices of each carrier depend on the other carrier's choices, and the tolls deter the carriers from using links with a high total risk. The resulting model is a mathematical programming with equilibrium constraints (MPEC) problem, where the inner problem is a Nash equilibrium problem (game) having as players the carriers, each one wishing to minimize his or her travel cost (including tolls); the outer problem is addressed by the government authority, whose aim is finding the link tolls that induce the carriers to choose route plans that minimize both the network total risk and the maximum link total risk among the network links (to address risk equity). To guarantee the stability of the solution, we study conditions for the existence and uniqueness of the Nash equilibrium, and propose a local search heuristic for the MPEC problem. Computational results are carried out on a real road network, comparing the performance of our toll setting policy with the toll setting approach proposed in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The successful implementation of a hazardous materials (HAZMAT) emergency response plan aimed at risk reduction varies by jurisdiction. Rural communities often face challenges in HAZMAT planning and training due to lower economic vitality that is often a result of fewer economic resources, a lack of knowledge of HAZMAT risk/response training, and data collection limitations. In order to identify opportunities and constraints in HAZMAT planning in rural communities, this paper presents a case study of HAZMAT transportation in North Central in Idaho. Researchers collected and analyzed HAZMAT transportation data to provide a basis for planning and implementation of mitigation measures that help reduce the risks of HAZMAT in rural areas. An interview with the Director of the board of Regional Emergency Managers was conducted to determine the utility of the study for local HAZMAT planning. This study also informs responders about the types of HAZMAT that are transported throughout the region. This information can be used to develop hazard-specific preparedness activities particular to the region, such as training, equipment selection and future grant opportunities. This study also contributes to the limited body of literature that examines challenges rural communities face in HAZMAT risk assessments and risk reduction response planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation has a great role in logistics. Many researchers have studied on transportation and vehicle routing problems. Transportation of hazardous materials (hazmat) is a special subject for logistics. Causalities due to the accidents caused by trucks carrying hazardous materials will be intolerable. Many researchers have studied on risk assessment of hazmat transportation to find ways for reducing hazardous material transportation risks. Some researchers have studied routing of hazmat trucks. The emergency response models and network design problems for hazmat transportation were also studied by some researchers. The transportation of hazmats can also be classified according to the mode of transport. Mainly roads are used for hazmat transportation but some shipments are intermodal. There has been a great amount of effort spent to find convenient ways for hazmat transportation. In this study, a literature survey for the articles about hazmat transportation is prepared. After pointing out the importance of hazmat transportation by the example of US hazmat transportation data, the studies on hazmat transportation since 2005 have been examined. Totally 88 articles are classified as risk, routing, routing and scheduling, emergency response, network design and accident analysis. What can be studied in future researches is pointed out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of the Hungarian system for industrial safety has a history of 15 years. The aim of this article is to overview the measures related to the development of the legislative area for industrial safety in the field of dangerous goods transportation and draw upon the potential experiences of this progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the combined transport of dangerous goods, in the territory of combiterminals, transport takes place from one type of transport to another means of transport. During the trans-shipment and the temporary storage o f hazardous materials accidents resulting in smaller or larger consequences may occur (and in recent times have occurred as well). Experience has shown that reducing the consequences of such accidents requires the use of some special tools. In our article we present these tools in order to reduce such consequences as well as the technical foundations of their applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The domino sequences found in major accidents have been analyzed for a large set of cases (330); the first event triggering the domino effect was an explosion or a fire, both with approximately the same contribution; the same proportion has been found when all domino effect steps were considered. Although fire effects usually reach a distance much shorter than those of an explosion, as fire is the most frequent major accident it is often found as the first step of domino sequences. This is especially true in the case of BLEVEs. Both in fixed plants and in the transportation of hazardous materials, in the event of a fire, if flames affect a vessel and the fireproofing layer has been damaged, a BLEVE can occur at any moment. 127 BLEVE accidents involving domino effect have been analyzed. It has been found that fire is significantly more frequent than explosion, both in triggering the domino effect sequence and in intermediate steps. The time to failure can range from 1 min or even less up to several hours, an aspect that should be very important for the management of the emergency. A set of conclusions are inferred from this survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although long-term planning can be improved by full stakeholder participation that generates consensus, there are some planning problems that lack interest from a large and diverse group of stakeholders. For these low-interest yet substantively important issues, such as hazard mitigation, technical collaboration has been suggested as a precursor to processes that involve full stakeholder participation. However, there has been only limited research evaluating the role of technical collaboration in practice. In this study I analyze how technical collaboration influences hazard mitigation capacity for communities at risk from hazardous liquid and natural gas transmission pipeline accidents. Semistructured interviews were conducted with forty-five emergency managers and planning directors located in the Greensboro-Winston-Salem, North Carolina (USA) metropolitan area whose communities had hazardous liquid and natural gas transmission pipelines. On the basis of these interview data, I classified technical collaborations into three categories: loose alliances, full partnerships, and hierarchically cooperative groups. Using this typology of technical collaboration, I found that the type of collaboration (1) influenced local knowledge about pipelines; (2) impacted how transmission pipeline hazards were addressed within a mitigation agenda; and (3) affected a community's longterm capacity to mitigate pipeline hazards and build resilience against potential disasters. Leadership, access to resources, and continuity of the collaboration affected the function of technical collaborations. The research illustrated the inconsistencies in hazard resilience outcomes produced by the three types of technical collaboration. Collectively, the results illustrate how some planners and emergency managers can overcome deficits in knowledge about transmission pipeline hazards or about hazard mitigation planning tools in order to improve hazard resilience. Practitioners from jurisdictions of various sizes can use this research to facilitate their use of existing relationships to achieve hazard mitigation goals or to address critical issues that may have limited stakeholder support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Air pollution is a suspected developmental neurotoxicant. Many schools are located in close proximity to busy roads, and traffic air pollution peaks when children are at school. We aimed to assess whether exposure of children in primary school to traffic-related air pollutants is associated with impaired cognitive development. Methods and Findings: We conducted a prospective study of children (n = 2,715, aged 7 to 10 y) from 39 schools in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) exposed to high and low traffic-related air pollution, paired by school socioeconomic index; children were tested four times (i.e., to assess the 12-mo developmental trajectories) via computerized tests (n = 10,112). Chronic traffic air pollution (elemental carbon [EC], nitrogen dioxide [NO2], and ultrafine particle number [UFP; 10–700 nm]) was measured twice during 1-wk campaigns both in the courtyard (outdoor) and inside the classroom (indoor) simultaneously in each school pair. Cognitive development was assessed with the n-back and the attentional network tests, in particular, working memory (two-back detectability), superior working memory (three-back detectability), and inattentiveness (hit reaction time standard error). Linear mixed effects models were adjusted for age, sex, maternal education, socioeconomic status, and air pollution exposure at home. Children from highly polluted schools had a smaller growth in cognitive development than children from the paired lowly polluted schools, both in crude and adjusted models (e.g., 7.4% [95% CI 5.6%–8.8%] versus 11.5% [95% CI 8.9%–12.5%] improvement in working memory, p = 0.0024). Cogently, children attending schools with higher levels of EC, NO2, and UFP both indoors and outdoors experienced substantially smaller growth in all the cognitive measurements; for example, a change from the first to the fourth quartile in indoor EC reduced the gain in working memory by 13.0% (95% CI 4.2%–23.1%). Residual confounding for social class could not be discarded completely; however, the associations remained in stratified analyses (e.g., for type of school or high-/low-polluted area) and after additional adjustments (e.g., for commuting, educational quality, or smoking at home), contradicting a potential residual confounding explanation. Conclusions: Children attending schools with higher traffic-related air pollution had a smaller improvement in cognitive development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The management and control of vehicles transporting hazardous materials (hazmat) on congested highways has attracted growing attention from researchers in recent years. This paper proposes a decision support system (DSS) for monitoring hazmat vehicles, aimed at assessing two problems: evaluating the social risk induced by hazmat vehicles traveling in highways and selecting restoration procedures after an accident involving heavy vehicles. The proposed DSS can estimate in real time and offline the risk of hazmat transportation, by taking into account the type of transported hazmat, the traffic, and the density of populations living close to the highway. Two main modules of the DSS are specified: the risk assessment module and the simulation module (SM) that allows forecasting risk in different contexts and scenarios. In particular, the SM is realized by modeling the highway network in a colored Petri net (CPN) framework. In order to show the effectiveness and the applicability of the DSS, a prototype is described and applied to a highway in the North-east of Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The methods of conflict situations assessment were analyzed, and it was established that the main shortcoming is the disregard of the probability of occurrence of the RTA involving an individual road user. Based on the factor analysis conducted, the non-linear model of the probability of the RTA occurrence in the transport network segments was developed. Also, the model of the probability of the RTA occurrence in transport junctions was improved. It will enable, if using respective optimization algorithms, working out the optimal routes for dangerous goods transportation by the minimum of the RTA occurrence probability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Process safety, as well as the safe storage and transportation of hazardous or reactive chemicals, has been a topic of increasing interest in the last few decades. The increased interest in improving the safety of operations has been driven largely by a series of recent catastrophes that have occurred in the United States and the rest of the world. A continuous review of past incidents and disasters to look for common causes and lessons is an essential component to any process safety and loss prevention program. While analyzing the causes of an accident cannot prevent that accident from occurring, learning from it can help to prevent future incidents. The objective of this article is to review a selection of major incidents involving ammonium nitrate in the last century to identify common causes and lessons that can be gleaned from these incidents in the hopes of preventing future disasters. Ammonium nitrate has been involved in dozens of major incidents in the last century, so a subset of major incidents were chosen for discussion for the sake of brevity. Twelve incidents are reviewed and ten lessons from these incidents are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments according to a test specified in the UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Manual of Tests and Criteria, and numerical simulations by means of a finite element method are employed to determine the self-accelerating decomposition temperature of acrylic acid in a railroad tank car. The results demonstrate that the transport of acrylic acid in big tank cars is safe as long as some basic conditions are taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has not even been two years since disaster management took over the enforcement process of the transportation of dangerous goods by inland waterways. The international regulations of the transportation of dangerous goods by inland waterways are recorded in the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN). The most important goal of control and inspection is to get the regulations enforced in order to ensure transportation safety. The main goals of this article are to evaluate the experience, present the achievements and make proposals on how to correct the mistakes and deficiencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a decision support system for transportation of hazardous materials by railway in China in order to reduce the serious consequences resulting from sudden environmental-pollution accidents. Transportation management of hazardous materials and consequent environmental risk are incorporated into the design approach for the system structure and functional framework. Moreover, management information system and geographical information system techniques are integrated for the development of system-functional modules within the decision support system. This paper mainly focuses on the datasheet construction in terms of management information system design, as well as the mathematical models applied to geographical information system buffer analysis. On completion of the system design and construction, selected functionalities of each sub-module are demonstrated. The limitation of the decision support system is also discussed, which lays a foundation for further development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Serbian Armed Forces, oil and petroleum products are transported primarily for military units and institutions. The route for the movement of vehicles is selected during the transportation planning process. This paper describes a methodology for the selection of a route for the transport of dangerous goods and its application on one particular case in the Serbian Armed Forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Awareness of hazmat requirements and risk lags behind EHS awareness [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The transportation of dangerous goods is a complex issue involving various potential consequences for a wide range of high-stake elements. Most particularly, hydrocarbon transportation requires the carrying out of a global study in order to assess the risks involved. The aim of this study is to develop a prediction code for analyzing different possible hydrocarbon supply routes in order to determine whether modifying the flow of hydrocarbon transportation significantly increases the risk (for people, infrastructure and the environment). On the one hand, this paper details the methodology proposed for assessing risk levels using hazard scenarios and the vulnerability of high-stake elements. On the other hand, it presents the modeling tool developed (CARTENJEUX), based on an existing geographical information system (MapInfo), through a case study (Paris, France). Several maps (severity of accident, vulnerability and risk levels) generated using CARTENJEUX are presented in order to illustrate how stakeholders can determine preferential routes at regional scale. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We consider a robust shortest path problem when the cost coefficient is the product of two uncertain factors. We first show that the robust problem can be solved in polynomial time by a dual-variable enumeration with shortest path problems as subproblems. We also propose a path enumeration approach using a K -shortest paths finding algorithm that may be efficient in many real cases. An application in hazardous materials transportation is discussed, and the solution methods are illustrated by numerical examples. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2013 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Introduction: In this paper, a literature study on risk analysis systems for the transport of hazardous materials was conducted. Results: The insights that resulted from this literature review have led to the development of a refined approach to map the risk of hazmat transport in Flanders based on historical accident data. The proposed framework allows setting up an overall risk map for hazmat transport by different transport modes. Additionally, a methodology to calculate a local accident risk, which takes local infrastructure parameters and accident data into account, is being introduced. In the presented framework one of the general principles is that the risk of a catastrophic hazmat incident can be divided into two parts, which can both be validated on the basis of accident data: (a) the calculation of the general probability of the occurrence of an accident based on international accident data of transport of hazardous materials – this is the basis for the global risk map, and (b) the calculation of the local probability of the occurrence of an accident based on accident data and infrastructure parameters of the complete available freight transport in Flanders – this is the basis for the local risk map. The ratio between these two results in a locality parameter, which represents the local specific circumstances that can lead to an accident. Conclusions: This evaluation framework makes it possible to estimate the risks of hazmat transport along a specific route for transport by road, rail, inland navigation and even pipelines. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses hazardous material (HazMat) transportation training requirements from organizations such as the U.S. Department of Transportation and the International Air Transport Association, focusing on industrial safety laws. Topics include the identification of employees who must be trained for HazMat transportation, pretransportation fuctions, international requirements for air and ocean transportation, and a labor dispute case study.

These days it is especially important, and a complex task at the same time, to protect human health and the environment at a high level. One of the most important elements of this protection policy is industrial safety, highlighted by the major accidents of recent years. Industrial safety embraces four special fields: the supervision of dangerous plants, the control of the transportation of dangerous goods, the protection of critical infrastructure and the prevention of nuclear accidents. In our essay we dedicate our attention firstly to the assessment of the international and national legal regulations concerning the emergency p1anning of the railway's dangerous activities. Secondly, the main goal of this article is to analyse the implementation of the above mentioned regulations by the operators of Hungarian railway infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a project sponsored by the Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program to determine the most promising emerging technologies for the safety and security of hazardous materials (hazmat) shipments. The project's focus was on hazmat transportation of all modes (i.e., highway, rail, marine, air, and pipeline). A requirements-based gap analysis methodology was utilized to screen and down-select an initially large number of potential candidate technologies. The methodology resulted in the identification of most promising emerging technology areas for further examination. Each of these technology areas was further characterized in terms of its applicability to hazmat transportation safety and security and its outlook for deployment. In addition to describing project activities and findings, the article offers a commentary on overarching considerations influencing the development and deployment of technologies with the potential to enhance hazmat transportation safety and security within the coming decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport route optimization of dangerous goods makes lower transportation risk and cost of the enterprise, meanwhile it provides basis reference for the government decision. On the basis of urban master planning, the characteristics of transport of dangerous goods was analyzed, and then the index system on transport of dangerous goods was established. In order to implement this research and quantify the indicators, road characteristics and nature of land along the section has been used to evaluate the risk, simultaneously, the emergency response capacity was considered as the correction factor to improve the risk model, and the BPR impedance function was applied to calculate the transportation costs, then the calculation process of transportation risk and costs was given with an example of Pingxiang, Jiangxi. On this basis, a bi-objective optimization model was created with the target of risk and cost, and method of solving the model was discussed. This model provides a theoretical basis for the transport network of dangerous goods planning and design for its simplicity, practicality and operability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cost-benefit evaluation of passive fire protection adoption in the road transport of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was investigated. In a previous study, mathematical simulations of real scale fire scenarios proved the effectiveness of passive fire protections in preventing the 'fired' boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE), thus providing a significant risk reduction. In the present study the economical aspects of the adoption of fire protections are analyzed and an approach to cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is proposed. The CBA model is based on the comparison of the risk reduction due to fire protections (expressed in monetary terms by the value of a statistical life) and the cost of the application of fire protections to a fleet of tankers. Different types of fire protections were considered, as well as the possibility to apply protections to the entire fleet or only to a part of it. The application of the proposed model to a real-life case study is presented and discussed. Results demonstrate that the adoption of passive fire protections on road tankers, though not compulsory in Europe, can be economically feasible, thus representing a concrete measure to achieve control of the 'major hazard accidents' cited by the European legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport of dangerous goods are regulated activities, they take place under the direction and control of the authorities and specialized bodies in an institutional framework determined by national and international law. Of economic, transport infrastructure is the crucial element without which both production and trade would become meaningless, it is an essential element of a civilization, is also a necessary accessory of other economic activities [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the risk assessment for national and international regulations related to transport and handling of fumigated containers. It explains the two sets of rule for importation of containers, the product-oriented rules and the operator-oriented rules. Under negotiation in Europe is "The Proposal for a regulation concerning the placing on the market and use of biocidal products." The rules for handling, opening, ventilation and release of fumigated containers are discussed.

The international community and important nuclear stakeholders are making efforts to promote the further globalisation of the nuclear fuel cycle. Consequently, marine shipments of radioactive materials are ever increasing. The history of maritime carriage of these substances has been characterised by disagreements between the various stakeholders with regard to, i.e., concepts such as innocent passage as included in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and implementation and interpretation of the precautionary principle. The international framework governing these shipments is flawed due to its inconsistency and fragmentation, thereby passively allowing coastal nations to take unilateral action, such as blocking the shipments from their Exclusive Economic Zones and territorial waters. On the European level, modern environmental law principles are being put forward more progressively, but are not incorporated into a consistent and clear legal regime in this particular context. Overall, there are many feasible improvements, both in the short- and the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incidents involving hazardous material (hazmat) road tankers carrying class-2 materials may pose the greatest danger to the people and property along the transport route because of their storage condition on the transport vessel i.e. stored either in pressurized vessels or in cryogenic containers and lead to severe consequences in terms of fatalities, injuries, evacuation, property damage and environmental degradation. The worst case of release may result into phenomenon like Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion (BLEVE) due to collision related catastrophic failure of vessel and an Unconfined Vapor Cloud Explosion (UVCE) due to delayed ignition following a large release. The impact zones or vulnerable areas have been identified along two designated. State highway routes passing through an important industrial corridor in Western India and mapped on a GIS enabled local map. HAMS-GPS software was used for the analysis of flammables and ALOHA for toxic hazmat consequences. The route risks are compared which have been estimated based on the population likely to be affected within the lethality impact areas created by the worst case release scenarios of different class-2 hazmats, namely LPG, ethylene oxide, propylene, 1,3-Butadiene, ammonia and chlorine, enabling proper routing decision by local authorities and also for planning emergency mitigating actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: North America railways offer safe and generally the most economical means of long distance transport of hazardous materials. Nevertheless, in the event of a train accident releases of these materials can pose substantial risk to human health, property or the environment. The majority of railway shipments of hazardous materials are in tank cars. Improving the safety design of these cars to make them more robust in accidents generally increases their weight thereby reducing their capacity and consequent transportation efficiency. This paper presents a generalized tank car safety design optimization model that addresses this tradeoff. The optimization model enables evaluation of each element of tank car safety design, independently and in combination with one another. We present the optimization model by identifying a set of Pareto-optimal solutions for a baseline tank car design in a bicriteria decision problem. This model provides a quantitative framework for a rational decision-making process involving tank car safety design enhancements to reduce the risk of transporting hazardous materials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Technological development inevitably increases the number of hazardous cargo in the European Union. The essential problem of the haulage of hazardous consignment deals with insufficient safety. The topic seems to be relevant due to importance to ensure the safety of carrying hazardous cargo, since while transporting such materials, a certain possibility of a negative impact on nature, people's health and safety occurs. This article assesses the current situation of the haulage of hazardous cargo in Lithuania and investigates activities of developing the possibilities of the haulage of hazardous cargo in the countries of the European Union (EU). The conduced research on transport organizations in the EU countries helped with evaluating safety remedies and with ensuring the safe haulage of hazardous cargo used by particular organizations as well as suggested the kinds of transport used for transporting hazardous cargo. The study also indicated the most frequently crossed countries and the kinds of information technologies an organization applies in practice so that to guarantee the safety of the haulage of hazardous cargo. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Performance evaluation is important in managing freight transport. The transport of certain products, especially those that are hazardous, can have significant financial and socio-environmental impacts. This article presents an application of the modal choice method (MCM) to establish an order of priority among the alternatives considered to carry a determined hazardous product. After a research of the literature on the concepts and development of the proposed method, we consulted experts about their experiences and knowledge, to determine a set of relevant attributes for the evaluation process. We then applied this method to the specific case of the Brazilian bio-ethanol industry, to demonstrate the potential of using the MCM as a tool to support make decisions. We can conclude that highway transport, though the most often used, is not the best compared to trains or pipelines (or combinations of any of the three) from a socio-environmental standpoint. Alternatives with longer pipeline segments are the most suitable to replace the current practice in environmental terms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Department of Transportation (DOT) mandates reporting of all serious hazardous materials incidents. Hazardous material exposures may result in secondary contamination of emergency departments, or delayed clinical effects. Poison control centers specialize in the management of patients exposed to toxic substances; however, poison control center notification is not required. Purpose: The objective is to determine the frequency of poison control center notification after serious hazardous materials incidents when patients were transported to a hospital. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of serious hazardous materials incidents as reported by DOT, matched with data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers from 2002 through 2006 that involved patient transport. Incidents were divided into four groups: those reported to a poison control center within 0–360 minutes of the incident; those reported within 361–1440 minutes of the incident; those reported within 1441–4320 minutes of the incident; and no poison control center notification. Analyses were performed on variables including date, time, substance, and time to notification. Data were received in January 2008. Results: One hundred fifty-four serious incidents met inclusion criteria. One hundred thirty-four incidents (87%) occurred without poison control center notification. Poison control centers were notified in 20 incidents (12.9%); 15 incidents (9.7%) were reported within 0–360 minutes of the incident (M=115 minutes, range=5–359 minutes); four incidents (2.6%) were reported within 361–1440 minutes of the incident (M=652 minutes, range=566–750 minutes); and one incident (0.7%) was reported after 4320 minutes following the incident. Conclusions: Most serious hazardous materials incidents involving patient transport are not reported to poison control centers. Opportunities exist to increase utilization of poison control center resources without increasing financial burdens of the hazardous materials incident. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Risk assessment and management of transportation of hazardous materials (HazMat) require the estimation of accident frequency. This paper presents a methodology to estimate hazardous materials transportation accident frequency by utilizing publicly available databases and expert knowledge. The estimation process addresses route-dependent and route-independent variables. Negative binomial regression is applied to an analysis of the Department of Public Safety (DPS) accident database to derive basic accident frequency as a function of route-dependent variables, while the effects of route-independent variables are modeled by fuzzy logic. The integrated methodology provides the basis for an overall transportation risk analysis, which can be used later to develop a decision support system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Events such as the World Trade Center attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and the Minneapolis bridge collapse have affected society's perception of the risks affecting our lives. It has also led to the realization that a more systematic and holistic approach to risk management is needed, one that takes into consideration natural hazards, man made accidents, and intentional acts in a single context. This article discusses the early stage development of an all-hazards risk management (AHRM) approach designed to achieve this objective, taking hazardous materials transportation risk into consideration. Utilizing established assessment methods and data sources, relevant risks are expressed in monetary terms, creating a consistent basis from which one can identify those risks that warrant priority attention. An early stage application is presented, one involving an assessment of truck transportation of hazardous materials and earthquakes as two risks threatening several areas within the State of Tennessee, to illustrate the viability of implementing an AHRM approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In Europe, the transport of flammable gases and liquids in tanks has been impacted by new developments: for example, the introduction of the vapour-balancing technique on a broad scale and the steady increase in the application of electronic components with their own power sources; furthermore, new regulatory policies like the ATEX Directives are being enforced in the European Union. With this background in mind, the present investigation aims to provide a basis for future developments of the relevant explosion protection regulations in the safety codes for the transport of dangerous goods (RID/ADR). Specifically, the concentration of gas in the air was measured under various practical conditions while tank vehicles were being loaded with flammable gases or liquids. These spot-test data were supplemented by systematic investigations at a road tanker placed in our test field. With respect to non-electrical ignition sources, a closer investigation of the effect of hot surfaces was carried out. With regard to improving the current regulations, the results of our investigation show that it would be reasonable to implement a stronger differentiation of the characteristics of the dangerous goods (gaseous/liquid, flashpoint) on the one hand and of the techniques applied (loading with and without vapour-balancing system) on the other hand. Conclusions for the further development of the current international regulations are proposed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Composite concrete barriers represent a good alternative to current landfill containment systems because they can be made using waste minerals and thus have a lower environmental and economic cost. They are also more robust when in place. This paper presents results from laboratory testing and site trials and modelling of a concrete barrier system. Laboratory trials to determine the effect of cracking on the composite barrier are also reported. It is concluded that cracking will not cause failure. The modelling of the transport processes provided a good prediction of the movement of some species in the site trials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses foreign military sales, procedures for shipping hazardous materials, and the requirements of related government and international agencies such as the U.S. Military Surface Deployment Distribution Command and the International Maritime Organization. Nine hazard categories including explosives, the U.S. Department of Defense regulations concerning shipments, and competent authority approvals for foreign military sales are mentioned.

Abstract: Two large-scale diesel pool fire engulfment tests were carried out on LPG tanks protected with intumescing materials to test the effectiveness of thermal coatings in the prevention of hot BLEVE accidental scenarios in the road and rail transport of LPG. A specific test protocol was defined to enhance reproducibility of experimental tests. The geometrical characteristics of the test tanks were selected in order to obtain shell stresses similar to those present in full-size road tankers complying to ADR standards. In order to better understand the stress distribution on the vessel and to identify underlying complicating phenomena, a finite element model was also developed to better analyze the experimental data. A non-homogeneous and time-dependent effectiveness of the fire protection given by the intumescing coating was evidenced both by finite element simulations and by the analysis of the coating after the tests. The results of the fire tests pointed out that the coating assured an effective protection of the tanks, consistently increasing the expected time to failure. The data obtained suggest that the introduction of fire protection coatings may be a viable route to improve the safety of the LPG distribution chain. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As with many aspects of modern industrial society, decision-makers face trade-offs in considering hazardous materials transportation equipment and practices. Tank cars used for transport of hazardous materials can be made more resistant to damage in accidents through use of a thicker steel tank and other protective features. However, the additional weight of these features reduces the car''s capacity and thus its efficiency as a transportation vehicle. In this paper the problem of tank car safety versus weight is developed as a multi-attribute decision problem. North American railroads recently developed specifications for higher capacity tank cars for transportation of hazardous materials including enhanced safety design features. A group of tank car safety design features or “risk reduction options” (RROs) were analyzed with regard to their effect on the conditional probability of release in an accident, and their incremental effect on tank car weight. All possible combinations of these RROs were then analyzed in terms of the reduced release probability per unit of weight increase and the Pareto optimal set of options identified. This set included the combinations of RROs that provided the greatest improvement in safety with the least amount of additional weight for any desired level of tank car weight increase. The analysis was conducted for both non-insulated and insulated tank cars and used two objective functions, minimization of conditional probability of release, and minimization of expected quantity lost, given that a car was derailed in an accident. Sensitivity analyses of the effect of tank car size and use of different objective functions were conducted and the optimality results were found to be robust. The results of this analysis were used by the Association of American Railroads Tank Car Committee to develop new specifications for higher capacity non-insulated and insulated, non-pressure tank cars resulting in an estimated 32% and 24% respective improvement in safety. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Most international discussions on ballast water management onboard ships have been virtually on the prevention of the transport of biotic alien species. This study focuses on how to improve this limited knowledge regarding the transport of butyltin compounds via ballasting. Butyltin compounds in ballast water, extracted from three sea-going merchant ships with similar voyage routes and berth ports but with different ballasting practices, were determined. Only monobutyltin (8–57ngl−1) and dibutyltin (10–32ngl−1) onboard two general cargo ships were detected in the ballast water taken outside the ports. In contrast, significant tributyltin (23–93ngl−1) was detected onboard the container ship in the ballast water pumped inside the loading/unloading ports. The comparison results from this study indicate that the risk of tributyltin transfer may be effectively prevented by ballasting outside the ports. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

"Hazardous materials" refer to those substances that seriously endanger human lives and/or the environment. The transportation of these materials will be inevitable in the increasingly industrialized economy of Iran. Nonetheless, numerous deadly accidents caused by the movement of these materials necessitate the design and implementation of preventive plans on several levels. This article looks into the present condition of transportation of hazardous materials in Iran and the resulting accidents. Optimal condition for the general transportation system of hazardous materials is delineated with due focus on transportation risk as the main parameter. Strategies for reaching the optimal condition are laid out and the impacts of these strategies on the reduction of accidents are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work examines conditions to ensure safe transportation of dangerous freight, to manage and minimize the risk of carriage of such freight along the whole route. This article presents the probabilities in transport of dangerous freight, probability of possible damage and that of a possible accident, when transporting dangerous freight and a method of calculating costs of damage to the environment and that of calculating accident probability. The article points out the ways of reducing the risk of possible damage and probability of accident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Often, the carrier/shipper of hazardous materials is interested in a collection of routes with approximately the same performance so that they can switch between different routes to avoid exposing the same population and potentially as a security measure. We develop a K shortest path algorithm for which the performance of each highway facility, with respect to each objective, can be stochastic and can vary over time. We also devise a mixed integer program to identify a subset of paths, which represents an acceptable trade-off between geographic diversity and performance. These models are then applied to a realistic case study. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The people living and working around the roads used for hazardous material (hazmat) shipments face the risk of suffering undesirable consequences of an accident. The main responsibility to mitigate the hazmat transport risk at a population zone belongs to the government agency with jurisdiction over that region. One of the common policy tools is to close certain road links to vehicles carrying hazmats. In effect, the road network available to dangerous goods carriers can be determined by the regulator. The transport risk in the region, however, is determined by the carriers' routing decisions over the available road network. Thus, the regulator needs to make the road closure decisions so that the total risk resulting from the carriers' route choices is minimized. We provide a path-based formulation for this network design problem. Alternative solutions can be generated by varying the routing options included in the model for each shipment. Each solution corresponds to a certain compromise between the two parties in terms of transport risk and economic viability. The proposed framework can be used for identifying mutually agreeable hazmat transport policies. We present two applications of the methodology to illustrate the insights that can be gained through its use: The first application focuses on hazmat shipments through the highway network of Western Ontario, Canada, whereas the second application studies the problem in a much larger geographical region that covers the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A methodological framework was outlined for the comprehensive risk assessment of marshalling yards in the context of quantified area risk analysis. Three accident typologies were considered for yards: (i) “in-transit-accident-induced” releases; (ii) “shunting-accident-induced” spills; and (iii) “non-accident-induced” leaks. A specific methodology was developed for the assessment of expected release frequencies and equivalent release diameters, based on the application of HazOp and Fault Tree techniques to reference schemes defined for the more common types of railcar vessels used for “hazmat” transportation. The approach was applied to the assessment of an extended case-study. The results evidenced that “non-accident-induced” leaks in marshalling yards represent an important contribution to the overall risk associated to these zones. Furthermore, the results confirmed the considerable role of these fixed installations to the overall risk associated to “hazmat” transportation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]