DOT Releases Study On Hazmat Incidents

DOT has issued an information paper on the Reported Damages versus Projected True Costs of Hazardous Materials Incidents from 1998 to 2000. During this period, there were about 800,000 daily hazmat shipments which resulted in 49,933 incidents of which 323 were ‘serious non-accident/derailment’ incidents. Of these, 138 involved damage by forklifts, general handling, dropping, improper blocking and bracing, loading and unloading, and other human error causes. In other words, 43% of the incidents were deemed the result of material handling. The study further investigates the reported versus actual costs of these incidents but more importantly, validates that while in-transit, packaging must be able to withstand the rigors of unexpected handling. In the case of steel containers and drums, the thicker the metal wall, the greater the protection against puncture, excessive vibration and other types of handing damage. An extra dollar of steel could save thousands of dollars in clean-up expense.