[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 78 (Friday, May 11, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1022]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    COMMEMORATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BUREAU OF EXPLOSIVES

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                          HON. JOHN T. SALAZAR

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 10, 2007

  Mr. SALAZAR. Madam Speaker, today I would like to commend the unsung 
heroes who go unnoticed but who get up every morning and think about 
how to make our lives safer. They are the men and women who make up the 
independent agency known as the Bureau of Explosives, headquartered in 
Pueblo, Colorado at the Transportation Technology Center. This month 
marks the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Bureau of 
Explosives.
  The Bureau of Explosives (BOE) was formally established in 1907 by 
the railroad industry to serve as an independent agency to promote the 
safe transportation of explosives. BOE wrote the very first hazardous 
materials regulations, which were subsequently adopted and expanded 
upon by the Interstate Commerce Commission and later the U.S. 
Department of Transportation.
  BOE was originally called the Bureau for the Safe Transportation of 
Explosives, and was created under the American Railway Association 
(ARA), predecessor of the Association of American Railroads (AAR). With 
a chemical laboratory and 16 inspectors, the Bureau immediately took 
the lead in inspecting shipments, encouraging improvements in shipping 
techniques, and developing rules that form the basis of all modern 
regulations of hazardous shipments. Although the Bureau was granted 
considerable enforcement powers by the ARA in its constitution, it 
encouraged compliance through education. This was accomplished 
primarily by personally visiting shippers and railroad personnel to 
explain why the rules were necessary for their safety. Annual reports 
illustrated examples of situations where the rules where not followed. 
In 1913, explosives manufacturers and shippers and manufacturers of 
shipping containers were invited to join the Bureau. Shippers quickly 
began using the Bureau to improve preparation of their shipments to 
withstand the rigors of transportation.
  Today, the BOE is managed by Transportation Technology Center, Inc. 
(TTCI), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Association of American 
Railroads. BOE inspectors located throughout North America continue to 
work with more than 350 member North American railroads, hazardous 
materials shippers, and container manufacturers and repair companies to 
ensure safe shipping practices. Congratulations on 100 years of work 
that has paid off, making the transportation of hazardous shipments by 
rail today safer than at any other time in our nation's history.

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