Department of Transportation Report on Transporting Hazardous	 
Materials (18-JUN-02, GAO-02-867R).				 
                                                                 
The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the	 
Comptroller General, is required by the Department of		 
Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY	 
2002 to study the transportation of hazardous and radioactive	 
materials and its effects on public health and safety, the	 
environment, and the economy. GAO has had no substantive	 
consultation with the Department of Transportation on the study  
and only received a draft report one week prior to its scheduled 
delivery date to Congress. Consequently, GAO has not had the	 
opportunity to perform a comprehensive review of the report's	 
contents or to make timely suggestions for modifications.	 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-02-867R					        
    ACCNO:   A03699						        
  TITLE:     Department of Transportation Report on Transporting      
Hazardous Materials						 
     DATE:   06/18/2002 
  SUBJECT:   Federal legislation				 
	     Hazardous substances				 
	     Reporting requirements				 
	     Safety regulation					 
	     Transportation safety				 
	     Environmental monitoring				 
	     Economic analysis					 

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GAO-02-867R
     
GAO- 02- 867R DOT?s Report on Transporting Hazardous Materials United States
General Accounting Office

Washington, DC 20548

June 18, 2002 The Honorable Norman Y. Mineta The Secretary of Transportation

Subject: Department of Transportation Report on Transporting Hazardous
Materials Dear Mr. Secretary: This letter is in response to the draft report
we received on June 10 th that the Department of Transportation (DOT) has
prepared in accordance with the requirement in the Department of
Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY 2002. As you
know, section 352( b) of that act directs you, in consultation with the
Comptroller General, to conduct a study of the effects on public health and
safety, the environment, and the economy associated with the transportation
of hazardous and radioactive materials. The act further specifies five
matters to be addressed in the study and calls for a report to Congress
within 6 months of the act?s enactment- that is, by June 18, 2002.

We have had no substantive consultation with DOT on the study and only
received a draft report for review 1 week prior to its scheduled delivery
date to Congress, although we offered several times since January to consult
with DOT on the scope and design of the study. Consequently, we have not had
the opportunity to perform a comprehensive review of the report?s contents
or to make timely suggestions for possible modifications. Although the
report provides detailed information on the transportation of hazardous and
radioactive material, it does not fully address all of the matters raised by
Congress.

The matters set forth in the appropriations act were challenging and
difficult to address in the relatively short time provided by the act. The
report provides extensive detail on public and private investments in
maintaining the nation?s transportation infrastructure to ensure the safe
transportation of all cargo, including hazardous and radioactive materials,
as well as on plans to enhance transportation safety. It further provides a
broad overview of the numerous federal programs designed to improve federal,
state, and local responses to accidents involving hazardous materials.
However, the report does not directly address the study requirement to
assess the adequacy of these programs and the additional costs and time
required to ensure their adequacy.

The report also provides detailed information on incidents involving the
transportation of hazardous materials, but it does not link this information
to the condition of the routes on which those incidents occurred. Such an
analysis would

GAO- 02- 867R DOT?s Report on Transporting Hazardous Materials Page 2

have helped meet another important study requirement, namely, to examine the
safety of specific transportation routes used or planned for hazardous and
radioactive shipments. The report offers some important general
considerations about how best to route hazardous materials and the
limitations to rerouting. However, it does not discuss the actions that may
be needed to ensure the safety of individual routes.

Please call me at (202) 512- 2834 if you or your staff have any questions.
We are sending copies of this letter to the appropriate congressional
committees. We will also make copies available to others upon request.

Sincerely yours, John H. Anderson, Jr. Director, Physical Infrastructure
Issues

(545020)
*** End of document. ***