[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 84 (Friday, April 30, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23850-23852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-9947]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[FRA Emergency Order No. 23, Notice No. 1]


Emergency Order To Prohibit the Continued Use of Certain Railroad 
Tank Cars Equipped With a Truck Bolster Bearing Either Association of 
American Railroads (AAR) Identification Number B-2410 and National 
Castings of Mexico (NCM) Pattern Number 52122 or AAR Identification 
Number B-2409 and NCM Pattern Number 52202

    The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) of the United States 
Department of Transportation (DOT) has determined that public safety 
compels the issuance of this Emergency Order directing all persons, 
including, but not limited to owners, shippers, consignees, and 
railroads, to discontinue the loading and transportation of any 
railroad tank car with an original built date of 1995, 1996, 1997, or 
1998 and stenciled with DOT specification and the packaging 
requirements of the commodity table at 49 CFR 172.101, amplified in 
Part 173 identifying it as capable of transporting hazardous material; 
that is equipped with a truck bolster bearing either (1) AAR 
Identification Number B-2410 and NCM Pattern Number 52122 or (2) AAR 
Identification Number B-2409 and NCM Pattern Number 52202, until each 
of the described bolsters is removed from the car and replaced with a 
bolster of suitable design and manufacture.

Authority

    Authority to enforce the Federal railroad safety laws has been 
delegated by the Secretary of Transportation to the Federal Railroad 
Administrator. 49 CFR 1.49. The laws apply to all railroads (except 
self-contained urban rapid transit) and convey on FRA the authority to 
issue rules and orders covering every area of railroad safety. 49 
U.S.C. 20102 and 20103. FRA is authorized to issue emergency orders 
where ``an unsafe condition or practice * * * causes an emergency 
situation involving a hazard of death or personal injury.'' 49 U.S.C. 
20104. These orders may impose such ``restrictions and prohibitions * * 
* that may be necessary to abate the situation.'' (Id.) Any person who 
violates such an order is subject to civil penalties (49 U.S.C. 21301) 
and injunctive relief (49 U.S.C. 20112). FRA also enforces the 
hazardous materials transportation laws. 49 U.S.C. 5101 et seq; 49 CFR 
1.49.

Background

    On December 24, 2002, FRA issued Safety Advisory 2002-03, which 
identified a problem with potentially defective NCM truck bolsters 
bearing both AAR Identification Number B-2410 and NCM Pattern Number 
52122, which are used in 263,000-pound and 286,000-pound gross rail 
load freight cars. See 67 FR 79686-87 (December 30, 2002). In that 
advisory, FRA referenced AAR Maintenance Advisory MA-81 and AAR Early 
Warning Letters EW-5191, EW-5191-S1, and EW-5191-S2 indicating that 
there were as many as 15,000 freight cars in revenue service that may 
be equipped with the NCM bolsters.
    Subsequent to the publication of the Safety Advisory, FRA was made 
aware of second series of bolsters, bearing both AAR Identification 
Number B-2409 and NCM Pattern Number 52202, which pose a similar safety 
hazard. The NCM bolsters with NCM Pattern Number 52202 were also 
referenced in AAR Early Warning Letters EW-5194, EW-5195, EW-5196, and 
EW-5197.
    During March 2003, the AAR conducted fatigue testing under AAR

[[Page 23851]]

Specification M-202-97 (7 loading blocks of 100,000 cycles) on 19 
randomly selected bolsters from the NCM-Sahagun facility at the AAR 
Transportation Test Center, Inc., (TTCI) in Pueblo, CO. Of the 19 
randomly selected bolsters tested, 18 broke under test for a failure 
rate of 94.7%. In addition to quality control defects (welding and 
grinding), there were casting defects, hot tears, sand inclusions, and 
porosity in all tested bolsters. The bolsters under test failed at the 
end transition radius, and catastrophic failures occurred at lightening 
holes under the center bowl on the bottom half of the bolsters in 
tension. These test results indicated that subject bolsters were much 
more likely to fail in service than other normal bolsters.
    On March 31, 2003, the AAR issued the Industry Safety Action Plan 
(the Plan) for dealing with the orderly inspection and removal of these 
potentially defective truck bolsters based on a unique risk assessment 
matrix which included hazardous material commodity classification, 
mileage (utilization), loading factor/impact, and original equipment 
manufacturer bolster supply. The Plan divided cars with defective truck 
bolsters into three classes:
     Group I, Hazardous Materials Tank Cars;
     Group II, Coal Cars and Mill Gondolas; and
     Group III, All Other Cars.
    The Plan, approved and implemented by AAR's Technical Services 
Working Committee (TSWC), provided the following proactive safety 
measures:
    1. Tank car owners must complete bolster replacements on 20% of 
their hazardous material cars no later than May 31, 2003, and a minimum 
of 20% per month thereafter, with 100% replacement no later than 
September 30, 2003.
    2. Mill gondola and coal cars (subject to vertical loading impacts) 
must have bolsters either replaced or requalified (via radiographic 
inspection) no later than December 31, 2003.
    3. All other cars must either have bolsters replaced or requalified 
(via radiographic inspection) no later than April 1, 2004.
    On November 18, 2003, FRA issued Safety Advisory 2003-03, which 
further outlined the scope and severity of the two defective bolster 
patterns manufactured by NCM between the period of 1995 and 1998. See 
68 FR 65982-83 (November 24, 2003). The total estimated population of 
defective truck bolsters from both of these NCM patterns is 58,373 
bolsters, which represents a population of approximately 30,000 freight 
cars which may be equipped. In Safety Advisory 2003-03, although FRA 
recognized that the timetables established in AAR's Industry Safety 
Action Plan had not been met primarily due to the industry's not having 
a sufficient quantity of replacement bolsters, FRA recommended that 
railroads, manufacturers, and car owners make every attempt to adhere 
to the Plan as closely as possible. At the time that FRA issued Safety 
Advisory 2003-03, there had been no reported in-service bolster 
failures.
    Recently, two in-service failures of the above-noted bolsters have 
occurred that have caused FRA to reconsider the industry's course of 
action. Both in-service failures occurred on cars other than tank cars 
carrying hazardous material. One in-service failure occurred on January 
16, 2004, and resulted in the derailment of one car in a 135-car loaded 
coal train. This car could have caused serious damage to a bridge or 
track structure or both, and if it had been a tank car loaded with 
hazardous material and there was a release, the car could have 
potentially caused serious damage, injury, or death. The other in-
service failure was discovered on January 14, 2004, and did not result 
in any derailment or injury. Concern has also been expressed that these 
wintertime temperatures and conditions may lead to accelerated brittle 
metal failure of the subject bolsters. At present a total of 442 tank 
cars are assigned to hazardous material service that have not yet had 
these defective truck bolsters removed and replaced despite the fact 
that the industry plan called for completing this task by September 30, 
2003.

Finding and Order

    Based on the information detailed in FRA Safety Advisories 2002-03 
and 2003-03, the two recent in-service failures, and the fact that the 
timetable for replacing bolsters hazardous material tank cars as set 
forth in AAR's Industry Safety Action Plan has not been met, FRA 
believes that additional failures may be imminent and that it is in the 
interest of public safety to ensure that the industry take immediate 
steps to eliminate the potential hazards that could be caused by an in-
service failure of such a bolster on a tank car carrying a hazardous 
material. Such a failure could cause derailment of the car, release of 
its contents, and serious injury or death. Accordingly, I find that an 
emergency situation involving a hazard of death or injury exists. 
Consequently, I hereby direct and order that no person may transport, 
offer for transportation, load, or continue in service any tank car 
with an original built date of 1995, 1996, 1997, or 1998 and stenciled 
with DOT specification and the packaging requirements of the commodity 
table at 49 CFR 172.101, amplified in Part 173; that is equipped with a 
truck bolster bearing either (1) AAR Identification Number B-2410 and 
NCM Pattern Number 52122 or (2) AAR Identification Number B-2409 and 
NCM Pattern Number 52202, until each of the described bolsters is 
removed from the car and replaced with a bolster of suitable design and 
manufacture, except as necessary to effectuate such removal and 
replacement. Railroads are permitted to haul such a car if necessary to 
effectuate such removal and replacement, but only to the nearest 
available location where the removal and replacement of the subject 
bolster can be made. If found empty do not reload the car in movement 
to the repair location.

Relief

    Relief from this order will occur, for each affected tank car, when 
each of its subject bolsters has been replaced with a non-defective 
bolster. If persons subject to the order desire specific relief (e.g., 
permitting use of a defective car for a purpose other than necessary 
moving for repair), such persons must submit a request for special 
approval in accordance with 49 CFR 211.55, which may be granted or 
denied by FRA's Associate Administrator for Safety.

Penalties

    Any violation of this order shall subject the person committing the 
violation to a civil penalty of up to $22,000. See 49 U.S.C. 21301. FRA 
may, through the Attorney General, also seek injunctive relief to 
enforce this order. See 49 U.S.C. 20112.

Effective Date and Notice to Affected Persons

    This Emergency Order shall take effect on April 30, 2004 and 
applies to each tank car with an original built date of 1995, 1996, 
1997, or 1998 and stenciled with a STCC identifying it as capable of 
transporting hazardous material, that is equipped with any of the 
above-described NCM truck bolsters. Notice of this Emergency Order will 
be provided by publishing it in the Federal Register. A copy of this 
Emergency Order will also be sent by e-mail or facsimile to the AAR for 
distribution to its members.

[[Page 23852]]

Review

    Opportunity for formal review of this Emergency Order will be 
provided in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 20104(b) and 5 U.S.C. 554. 
Administrative procedures governing such review are found at 49 CFR 
part 211. See 49 CFR 211.47, 211.71, 211.73, 211.75, and 211.77.

    Issued in Washington, DC on April 27, 2004.
Allan Rutter,
Federal Railroad Administrator.
[FR Doc. 04-9947 Filed 4-29-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P