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UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING THE MOVEMENTS OF HAZARDOUS MATERIAL SHIPMENTS THROUGH TEXAS POPULATION CENTERS

Every day almost a million shipments of hazardous materials move safely and securely along our nation’s transportation system, via any combination of modes. Only a small fraction of total shipments interrupt their planned journey due to an incident that may severely threaten public and environmental safety. However, this threat of very rare but very severe, sometimes even catastrophic, consequences elevates the concern over transportation of hazardous materials through population centers. Furthermore, concern now exists over possible intentional hazmat releases and their use as a means to invoke human, economic, and environmental damage. It is vital for the transportation planning community at all levels to fully understand methods to effectively manage the movement of hazardous materials, thereby improving incident prevention and mitigation, increasing public safety, and reducing risk, without undue burden to commerce. This report strives to provide an overview of the movement of hazardous materials by the various freight modes, details some of the data related to the movement of hazardous materials in Texas, and examines the issues and opportunities related to relocating hazardous materials outside urban areas.