New Study Supports Boston Hazmat Ban

A new study has concluded that Boston should ban the transport of nearly all nonradioactive hazardous materials through the downtown and North End areas to protect the public.

The Battelle Memorial Institute study supports the city’s 2006 attempt to reroute hazmat trucks around the city during the day. It also concluded the ban should be enforced around the clock, 24 hours a day, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said in a statement.

The 2006 Boston hazmat ban was lifted in 2009 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in response to a petition filed by American Trucking Associations and the Massachusetts Department of Highways.

Rich Moskowitz, vice president and regulatory affairs counsel for ATA, said he has not seen the study because the city “leaked aspects of it to the press, but refused to make copies available to the public.”

But if the city does impose a ban on hazmat transport, it would mean trucks would have to spend more time on the road, add miles and burn more fuel, which would increase emissions and exposure, Moskowitz said.