Undeclared Hazardous Materials: New DOT Efforts May Provide	 
Additional Information on Undeclared Shipments (29-MAR-06,	 
GAO-06-471).							 
                                                                 
More than 3 billion tons of regulated hazardous materials	 
(hazmat)--including explosive, poisonous, corrosive, flammable,  
and radioactive materials--are transported in the United States  
each year. When these materials are properly packaged, labeled,  
and stowed, they can be transported safely, but when they are	 
not, they can pose significant threats to transportation workers,
emergency responders, and the general public because of the	 
potential for accidents and incidents. Moreover, since the	 
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the security of such	 
shipments, especially those that can be used as weapons of mass  
destruction, has attracted the attention of the transportation	 
community, government officials, and emergency responders. In the
wrong hands, hazardous materials could pose a significant	 
security threat, and it is likely that terrorists who seek to use
hazardous materials to harm Americans would move those materials 
as undeclared shipments. Federal officials are aware that	 
undeclared shipments of hazmat occur and can have serious	 
consequences. Federal hazmat experts believe that the most	 
frequent explanations for undeclared shipments are (1) shipper's 
lack of knowledge--an unawareness or misunderstanding of the	 
requirements for properly declaring and transporting hazmat--and 
(2) economic--an attempt to avoid additional costs that may be	 
associated with shipping regulated hazmat, including special	 
placarding, packaging, additional training, and insurance. To the
extent that such undeclared shipments are discovered, the	 
discovery typically occurs in one of the following ways: as a	 
result of an accident or incident, during a routine cargo	 
inspection, or when a tip is provided to officials. Two federal  
departments are involved in discovering undeclared hazmat	 
entering the United States--Homeland Security (DHS) and 	 
Transportation (DOT). DHS--primarily through the Coast Guard and 
Customs and Border Protection--seeks to ensure the security of	 
hazmat by reducing threats to transportation infrastructure and  
operations. DOT's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety	 
Administration has the primary responsibility for regulating the 
safe and secure transportation of hazmat, and other modal	 
administrations--most notably the Federal Railroad		 
Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, and Federal	 
Motor Carrier Safety Administration--are responsible for	 
enforcing compliance with regulations once hazmat has entered the
U.S. transportation system. A good understanding of the frequency
and impact of undeclared hazmat shipments is essential to	 
identifying the extent of the problem and developing regulations 
and programs to mitigate the risk involved. The Safe,		 
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A	 
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) requires that we review existing	 
options and determine additional options for discovering the	 
amount of undeclared shipments of hazardous materials entering	 
the United States. To respond to this mandate, this report (1)	 
describes the current federal approach for discovering the amount
of undeclared hazmat entering the United States, (2) identifies  
efforts under way to enhance the existing approach, and (3)	 
determines whether any additional options could be employed.	 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-06-471 					        
    ACCNO:   A50318						        
  TITLE:     Undeclared Hazardous Materials: New DOT Efforts May      
Provide Additional Information on Undeclared Shipments		 
     DATE:   03/29/2006 
  SUBJECT:   Cargo security					 
	     Federal regulations				 
	     Hazardous substances				 
	     Inspection 					 
	     Shipping industry					 
	     Transportation					 
	     Security threats					 
	     Transportation of hazardous substances		 

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GAO-06-471

     

     * Report to Congressional Committees
          * March 2006
     * UNDECLARED HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
          * New DOT Efforts May Provide Additional Information on Undeclared
            Shipments
     * Contents
          * Results in Brief
     * Review of Undeclared Hazmat Entering the United States

Report to Congressional Committees

March 2006

UNDECLARED HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

New DOT Efforts May Provide Additional Information on Undeclared Shipments

Contents

March 29, 2006Letter

The Honorable Ted Stevens Chairman The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye
Co-Chairman Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation United
States Senate

The Honorable Don Young Chairman The Honorable James L. Oberstar Ranking
Democratic Member Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure House of
Representatives

More than 3 billion tons of regulated hazardous materials
(hazmat)-including explosive, poisonous, corrosive, flammable, and
radioactive materials-are transported in the United States each year. When
these materials are properly packaged, labeled, and stowed, they can be
transported safely, but when they are not, they can pose significant
threats to transportation workers, emergency responders, and the general
public because of the potential for accidents and incidents. Moreover,
since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the security of such
shipments, especially those that can be used as weapons of mass
destruction, has attracted the attention of the transportation community,
government officials, and emergency responders. In the wrong hands,
hazardous materials could pose a significant security threat, and it is
likely that terrorists who seek to use hazardous materials to harm
Americans would move those materials as undeclared shipments.1

Federal officials are aware that undeclared shipments of hazmat occur and
can have serious consequences.2 Federal hazmat experts believe that the
most frequent explanations for undeclared shipments are (1) shipper's lack
of knowledge-an unawareness or misunderstanding of the requirements for
properly declaring and transporting hazmat-and (2) economic-an attempt to
avoid additional costs that may be associated with shipping regulated
hazmat, including special placarding, packaging, additional training, and
insurance. To the extent that such undeclared shipments are discovered,
the discovery typically occurs in one of the following ways: as a result
of an accident or incident, during a routine cargo inspection, or when a
tip is provided to officials.

Two federal departments are involved in discovering undeclared hazmat
entering the United States-Homeland Security (DHS) and Transportation
(DOT). DHS-primarily through the Coast Guard and Customs and Border
Protection-seeks to ensure the security of hazmat by reducing threats to
transportation infrastructure and operations. DOT's Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration has the primary responsibility for
regulating the safe and secure transportation of hazmat, and other modal
administrations-most notably the Federal Railroad Administration, Federal
Aviation Administration, and Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration-are responsible for enforcing compliance with regulations
once hazmat has entered the U.S. transportation system.

A good understanding of the frequency and impact of undeclared hazmat
shipments is essential to identifying the extent of the problem and
developing regulations and programs to mitigate the risk involved. The
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy
for Users (SAFETEA-LU) requires that we review existing options and
determine additional options for discovering the amount of undeclared
shipments of hazardous materials entering the United States.3 To respond
to this mandate, this report (1) describes the current federal approach
for discovering the amount of undeclared hazmat entering the United
States, (2) identifies efforts under way to enhance the existing approach,
and (3) determines whether any additional options could be employed.

To address these objectives, we interviewed and obtained information from
a wide range of federal agencies and other sources, including the Pipeline
and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Federal Railroad
Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration, and the Office of the Secretary of Transportation
within DOT. We also contacted the Coast Guard and Customs and Border
Protection within DHS. We reviewed federal hazmat law and regulations,
prior studies on the transportation of hazmat, and DOT hazmat incident
reports for 2005. We also observed hazmat inspections and multiagency
cargo and truck inspections. We conducted our work from October 2005
through January 2006 in accordance with generally accepted government
auditing standards. On January 25, 2006, we briefed your staff on the
results of our work. Appendix II contains the materials we presented at
that time.

Results in Brief

The federal government has no specific program aimed at discovering the
amount of undeclared hazmat entering the United States; undeclared hazmat
is discovered mainly through inspection and regulatory efforts directed
primarily at imported cargo. The two main departments involved in these
efforts-DHS and DOT-play complementary roles. DHS finds undeclared hazmat
through various programs and technologies for screening cargo entering the
United States. For example, DHS has a container security initiative in
which DHS staff work within host countries to prescreen high-risk
containers, as well as use X-ray technology to screen trucks and
containers as they enter the United States. DOT, on the other hand, finds
undeclared hazmat while enforcing compliance with hazmat
regulations-through inspections and penalties-for shipments that are in
the nation's transportation system. DOT officials inspect hazmat cargo to
ensure proper paperwork, marking, labeling, and packaging; provide
technical assistance intended to enhance the security of hazmat carriers;
and issue security planning and training requirements for hazmat
employees. Under this approach, however, information about the amount of
undeclared hazmat entering the United States is limited. Neither DHS nor
DOT could provide data about the amount of undeclared hazmat entering or
discovered entering the country, even though their subordinate agencies
maintain inspection databases.4

DOT has two new efforts under way that officials expect will enhance the
current approach for discovering undeclared hazmat entering the United
States:

o Under SAFETEA-LU, DOT received enhanced authority to discover hidden
shipments of hazmat. DOT expects to complete the rule-making process for
implementing this expanded authority in late 2006, but the effective date
is uncertain.5 The new authority allows DOT inspectors to open and inspect
cargo when they have "an objectively reasonable and articulable belief
that the package may contain a hazardous material." Previously, they could
not generally open and inspect packages without a warrant or the shipper's
consent.

o In an attempt to quantify undeclared hazmat incidents and discoveries,
DOT now requires individuals who discover undeclared hazmat in
transportation to self-report the discovery. To implement this
requirement, which began on January 1, 2005, DOT revised its hazardous
materials incident reporting form (Form 5800.1).6 Data collected through
this form can help in defining the extent of the problem and in developing
programs to mitigate the risk of undeclared hazmat. Approximately 1,000
undeclared hazmat incidents were reported in 2005, with 70 of those
involving undeclared shipments entering the United States.7

Although additional options exist for discovering undeclared hazmat
entering the United States, each additional option, such as increasing the
scope and frequency of inspections, poses costs that would need to be
evaluated within the context of (1) the likely benefits of the additional
efforts and (2) the comparative risks posed by undeclared hazmat relative
to other types of threats. At this time, however, data for evaluating
additional options and costs is limited. There may be ways to utilize the
inspection data currently collected by DOT's modal administrations and DHS
agencies to provide additional information about the amount of undeclared
hazmat entering the United States. However, according to DOT and DHS
officials, the inspection data currently collected and reported is not
designed to identify discoveries of undeclared hazmat. For example, data
recorded by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration includes such
violations as "no placards/markings when required" or "no shipping
papers"; while these may indicate the presence of undeclared hazmat, there
is no violation category or data collected specific to discoveries of
undeclared hazmat. Finally, DOT has recently revised its data collection
tool and received new inspection authority, and more time is needed to
observe and evaluate the impacts of these efforts on discovering the
amount of undeclared hazmat entering the United States before pursing
additional options.

We requested comments on a draft of this report from DOT and DHS. DOT
offered a number of technical comments that were incorporated, as
appropriate. DHS did not provide comments on this report.

We are sending copies of this report to committees with jurisdiction over
the transportation of hazardous materials, the Secretary of Homeland
Security, and the Secretary of Transportation. We will also make copies
available to others on request. In addition, the report is available at no
charge on the GAO Web site at h  ttp://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact
me at (202) 512-8984 or h  [email protected]. Contact points for our Offices
of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last
page

of this report. Key contributors to this report include Randall
Williamson, Assistant Director; Heather MacLeod; Stan Stenersen; Friendly
Vang-Johnson; and Pamela Vines.

JayEtta Z. Hecker Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues

Review of Undeclared Hazmat Entering the United States Appendix I

(544113)
*** End of document. ***