DOT’s PHMSA Administrator Quarterman Addresses COSTHA

During the recent COSTHA Annual Conference in St. Petersburg, FL, Ms. Cynthia Quaterman, Administrator of PHMSA (DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration) addressed the attendee’s with an update of PHMSA’S activities to reorganize and replace staff as well as prepare for the nearly 20% of staff that are eligible for retirement. Her comments were in an effort to encourage the COSTHA members to work with PHMSA to improve the safe transport of hazardous materials. Referring to the fact that in 2009, PHMSA announced that they had become “too cozy” with industry. As a result, this action halted much of the working relationship that PHMSA had with the dangerous goods community, specifically shippers and packaging manufacturers. It was an unexpected blow to the progress that had been made in terms of improving packaging integrity and the safe transport and disposal of dangerous goods. With DOT re-staffing PHMSA, Skolnik will continue to work with DOT to improve and promote integrity in package manufacturing and safety in dangerous goods transport. To this end we will also work to improve the outcome of the LOGSA/Tobyhanna Validation Testing in an effort to have the Tobyhanna results reflect the high level of in-field safety and performance of US hazardous material packagings and shipments.