PHMSA outlines priorities for safe hazmat transportation
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration recently issued a memorandum outlining a new data-driven framework on outreach, inspection, and enforcement practices within its Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS). These new priorities support the Department’s core mission of upholding the highest of safety standards.
Among the key priorities are inspections of facilities that manufacture and requalify cylinders, including those used in tube trailers that transport compressed gases. The goal is to prevent incidents and ensure compliance by targeting the highest-risk areas in hazardous materials transportation, PHMSA said.
“Safety drives everything we do. That’s why, for the first time ever, PHMSA is publicly highlighting key focus areas for our inspection and enforcement teams to drive meaningful improvements in the movement of hazardous materials,” Paul Roberti, PHMSA administrator, said in a news release. “We aim to build safer communities across America through stronger compliance, enhanced partnerships, and higher safety standards for our industry.”
The memo directs PHMSA hazmat inspectors and investigators to focus on areas with the greatest potential impact on hazardous materials safety and to base their decisions on data-driven analyses. In addition to inspection and enforcement, the memo outlines priorities for outreach to regulated entities to help prevent safety violations and accidents before they occur.
The OHMS inspection and enforcement priorities memo is available on PHMSA’s website. The memo follows a similar effort already undertaken by PHMSA’s Office of Pipeline Safety. Priorities in the memo are outlined below:
Outreach priorities
- Increasing communication and engagement with hazardous materials shippers
- Supporting shipper understanding and compliance with hazardous materials package selection requirements
- Promoting proper classification of materials prior to shipment
Inspection priorities
- General hazardous materials shippers
- Cylinder requalification facilities
- Domestic and foreign cylinder manufacturing facilities
- Drum manufacturing operations
- Drum recertification entities
- Companies with past major safety violations
- Lithium battery shippers
- Undeclared hazardous materials shippers operating via e-commerce platform
Enforcement priorities
- Ensure Timely and Accurate Case Processing
- Focus on Risk-Based Enforcement
- Promote National Consistency and Accountability
- Leverage Data to Drive Strategic Improvements