"U.S. seeks stricter rules on shipping of hazardous materials"

Monday, November 19, 2001 

U.S. seeks stricter rules on shipping of hazardous materials
By Fred Schulte 
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel 


As FBI agents hunt the source of anthrax bacteria sent through the mail,
federal transportation officials are seeking broad new powers to crack
down on improper handling and delivery of other potentially deadly
materials.

Every day, 800,000 shipments of hazardous items are in transit
nationwide, by air, fleets of trucks, or through the mail, according to
the U.S. Department of Transportation.
 
Most are sent legally with clear markings to indicate dangers and the
need for special handling. But DOT officials say that undeclared or
hidden shipments of hazardous substances - sent intentionally or not -
are a national problem that has proved deadly.

The threat crystallized when health officials confirmed that two postal
workers in Washington had died this month from exposure to anthrax
bacteria, while several others have been hospitalized and thousands more
issued antibiotics as a precaution. A third person, a photo editor at a
Boca Raton tabloid, has died from exposure to anthrax apparently
delivered through the mail.

Hidden hazards have existed for years, according to DOT officials, who
cite dozens of examples in documents prepared earlier this month to
support a request for Congress to tighten oversight.

For instance, citations for failing to declare or properly package
hazardous cargo - such as highly flammable agents or containers with
disease-carrying viruses - aboard airplanes have more than quadrupled
since 1993.

On the ground, 110 people were killed and 197 injured from spillage or
other release of hazardous materials that truckers didn't realize they
were carrying, according to DOT data. Truckers reported about 3,300
incidents between January 1990 and December 2000.

500 incidents reported

And the U.S. Postal Service reported more than 500 instances in which
postal workers unknowingly handled mail that contained hazardous
substances between January 1998 and November 2000

Nobody died in the contacts, though postal workers required medical care
in 68 cases, according to DOT figures.

In one case last year, a parcel containing noxious chemicals was mailed
from a Texas laboratory to another site in the state. The package leaked
during handling, resulting in 22 postal workers being sent to the
hospital for exposure to fumes.

DOT officials say tougher standards are overdue to protect workers and
the public.

For starters, they want Congress to give federal inspectors clear
authority to stop and examine packages when they have a reasonable
suspicion of a hazard - whether the material is on board trucks, sitting
in a post office or in an aircraft cargo bay.

Inspectors usually don't discover hazardous materials until a package
leaks, emits a noxious smell or shows other obvious signs of hazard.

Inspectors also need the discretion to halt mishandled shipments until
problems are corrected, authority they now lack, officials said. The
agency wants maximum fines for violations raised from $27,500 to
$100,000 and criminal penalties up to 20 years in prison.

Ellen Engleman, administrator of DOT's Research and Special Programs
Administration, said the proposals would "strengthen the safety and
security of these shipments, while preserving the mobility vital to our
economy."

Earlier, the Senate passed, 98-1, an anti-terrorism bill that would give
the federal government broad new powers to conduct surveillance and
detain immigrants without filing criminal charges. But the DOT proposal,
made public on Oct. 10, could face industry opposition if business
groups perceive that it would unnecessarilyslow commerce.

Though much hazardous material travels by ground routes, air shipment
remains a critical concern, according to DOT.

Since 1990, the Federal Aviation Administration has taken action in
13,066 so-called "hazmat" violation cases nationwide, an analysis of FAA
data shows.

Fire downed Valujet

Most actions were against cargo handlers and airlines. More than 8,200
of them occurred after the May 11, 1996 Valujet crash in the Everglades,
which killed 110 people and was linked to fire caused by improper
handling of flammable oxygen canisters stored as cargo.

DOT officials contend the Valujet incident was far from isolated.

The agency report cites seven near-disasters, including a 1999 case in
which a Federal Express flight unknowingly carried liquified petroleum
gas to New York from Portland, Ore.

One day after its arrival in New York, the package burst into flames
while awaiting ground delivery, the agency said.

Three years earlier, airport workers unloading an American Airlines
passenger flight from California after it arrived in Jamaica saw smoke
billowing from the cargo bay. They found a box leaking undeclared toxic
chemicals, which caught fire shortly after it was removed, according to
DOT documents.

"In other cases, airplanes could have been lost and people killed as a
result of hidden hazardous materials in the packagings," agency
documents state.

FAA officials will not discuss specific cases or what steps they have
taken to tighten up the system since Sept. 1.

"Everything is under heightened security," said FAA spokesman Paul Turk.
"If we have made specific changes to how we do anything, we would have
to consider that sensitive security information."

Fred A. Romero, president of Dangerous Goods of America, a Miami firm
that helps train workers in proper handling of hazardous materials, said
the FAA has stepped up checks to uncover hidden hazards, including
requiring background checks on shippers.

"If we ship a toolbox," Romero said, "we can't just assume that tools
are in there."

Cost cutting blamed

Sonia Itrusta, vice president of Hazardous Material Compliance Inc. in
Miami, said the FAA is clamping down, in particular, on companies caught
trying to "cut corners" and save money by hiding hazardous materials in
regular shipments.

About 1,500 of the FAA actions since 1990 were brought against airlines
that accepted improperly labeled hazardous materials. Violations have
prompted fines from $250 to $180,000.

For instance, the FAA cited Express Airlines I in February for accepting
vials of infectious herpes virus packed with dry ice in a box. The
shipment was sent as checked baggage on a passenger flight from
Columbus, Miss., to Memphis, Tenn., where the airline is based. The FAA
proposed a $50,000 fine, and the case is pending, according to FAA
spokesman Christopher White.

In Florida, the FAA has taken 1,180 actions for hazardous materials
violations, 1,033 of them after the Valujet disaster and most at Miami
International Airport. "When we become aware of an incident we take the
appropriate action," said FAA spokesman White.

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