TSA To Watch Over Hazardous Rail Shipments

The Transportation Security Administration is set to propose a new rule that would require rail carriers to respond more quickly to government queries on the whereabouts of hazardous chemicals they transport through urban centers.

Under the proposed rule, slated for publication next week in the Federal Register, transporters of potentially explosive chemicals or those that could be lethal if inhaled would have as little as five minutes to tell federal investigators the precise location of rail shipments, in the highest risk situations. In less severe circumstances, the companies would be allowed up to half an hour to respond.

TSA Deputy Administrator Robert Jamison said Friday that full implementation of the proposed rule, available now on the agency’s Web site, would cost the rail industry $162 million over 10 years. The agency’s goal, he said, is to protect “densely populated areas” from the seizure or detonation of dangerous chemicals.

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