Hazmat Study: Technology Reduces Risks

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

ASHINGTON — A panel of federal hazardous material transportation officials and research consultants said the preliminary results of a test of technology applications showed a potential 12% to 37% reduction in the risk of a terrorist attack on or using a hazmat truck shipment.

“We found that the different suites of technologies could reduce the vulnerability by anywhere from 12% to 37%,” said Mark Carter, a program manager with Science Applications International Corp. — one of the groups that worked with the government on the study. “The reason for those ranges are economic considerations. We realize that not everybody’s going to want the Cadillac version of security protection.”

The figures were from the preliminary results of a field test of technology conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and discussed at the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting here last week.

For the full story, see the Jan. 17 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.