HAZARDOUS MATERIAL TRANSPORTATION RISKS IN THE PUGET SOUND REGION

In order to contribute to workable hazardous materials accident prevention and response systems, public safety risks of transporting hazardous materials in the Central Puget Sound Region of Washington State are determined. Risk spectrums are obtained which express the magnitude and frequency of all possible losses due to releases of five classes of hazardous materials representing 74 percent of the 1.9 million tons moved in the region by truck and rail in 1979. Five commodities representative of these classes are selected and discussed: liquid petroleum gas, chlorine, methanol, anti-knock compound, and sodium hydroxide. Release sequences are identified, using a fault tree approach for specific transportation equipment, and are evaluated for each commodity and transportation mode to predict probabilities of releases given a transportation accident. Environmental factors considered include accident rates, weather conditions, and population along each major transportation route. Truck and rail contributions to risk are found to be nearly equal, with liquefied petroleum gas dominating truck risk, and chlorine dominating rail risk.

• Corporate Authors:

  Batelle Memorial Institute/Pacific Northwest Labs

  Battelle Boulevard, P.O. Box 999
  Richland, WA  United States  99352

  Transportation Systems Center

  55 Broadway, Kendall Square
  Cambridge, MA  United States  02142
• Authors:
  • ANDREWS, W B
  • Rhoads, R E
  • Franklin, A L
  • Cole, W M
  • Rau, R G
• Publication Date: 1981-9

Media Info

• Pagination: 118 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Antiknock compounds; Carbinols; Chlorine; Crash rates; Engine knock; Fault tree analysis; Freight traffic; Freight transportation; Hazardous materials; Hazards; Highway transportation; Liquefied petroleum gas; Methanol; Prevention; Railroad transportation; Risk assessment; Safety; Sodium hydroxide; Trucks
• Uncontrolled Terms: Liquid petroleum gas
• Geographic Terms: Washington (State)
• Subject Areas: Freight Transportation; Highways; Motor Carriers; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; I81: Accident Statistics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00347818
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: DOT-TSC-RSPA-81-11 Final Rpt.
• Contract Numbers: DTRS-57-80-C-00170
• Files: NTIS, TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 30 1982 12:00AM