On the Risks of Transporting Dangerous Goods

Abstract

Hazardous materials (hazmats) pose a danger to the environment and to human health due to their toxic chemical ingredients. They include explosives, flammables, oxidizing materials, poisonous and infectious substances, radioactive materials, corrosive substances, and hazardous wastes. Most hazmats are not used at their point of production, and they are transported over considerable distances. For example, it is estimated that four billion tons of hazmats are transported annually across the U.S. highway, railroad, waterway and pipeline networks. Thus, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce (1994), roughly every fifth truck on U.S. highways is a hazmat truck. The public seems to be increasingly concerned with the unprecedented volume of dangerous goods movements. This is primarily because of the possibility of unintentional releases of toxic substances to the environment during transport