A proposal to prohibit the transportation of flammable liquids in unprotected product piping would not improve safety and would be dangerous to technicians an American Trucking Associations official told a House subcommittee Monday.
“We believe the industry’s safety record demonstrates that a mandate for wetlines-purging equipment is simply not justified,” Barbara Windsor, first vice chairwoman of ATA, said.
Windsor gave her remarks at a Baltimore field hearing on the Hazardous Material Transportation Safety Act, ATA said in a statement.
The act, which is currently before the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Material, would require that tank trucks be retrofitted with technology that would purge excess fuel from piping.
Windsor told the committee that the odds of being killed in a wetlines incident are one in 30 million.
Furthermore, the $8,000-per-truck retrofits would require welding, which would be dangerous to technicians, Windsor said.
Windsor asked that Congress require an in-depth study of the issue before making a decision, to properly assess the risks involved.
