DC Feedback: Proper hazmat procedures under FRA regulations
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If the BLE's National Legislative Office does not have the answer on hand (such as a federal interpretation), they'll get back to you as soon as possible. Select questions and answers will be published regularly in the pages of the Locomotive Engineer Newsletter.
This month's installment of DC Feedback deals with the handling and transportation of hazardous materials.
Dear Brother:
You have written to our DC Feedback column and posed these questions:
1. Your crew works on a road switcher at an outlying point that handles cars containing hazardous materials (hazmat) at a chemical plant. You ask, "What are the FRA regulations that apply to one crew assisting another crew to set out and pick up cars when the other crew brings those cars to you?"
2. You also ask, "Can the assisting crew perform a brake test on a cut of cars for a train that is not their train?"
3. Finally, you ask, "Is there a published FRA book regarding railroad rules and personal fines that may be charged when an FRA rule is violated?" and "Where can I obtain such a publication?"
The issues you have raised and the complexity of the regulations do not permit simple and straight-forward answers. The response I am providing is general and in some instances it quotes only small but relevant parts of the regulation. The answers are intended to give you a basis for understanding your responsibility under the regulations. As always, those responsibilities are considerable. A specific situation may require you to refer to a company officer, written company instructions, or the Federal Railroad Administration for application of the regulation. The most important safety measures you can take are to know the rules, communicate with all crew members, maintain awareness of the situation, and act on instructions only after you understand and confirm them.
Regarding your first question, the short answer is that both crews must comply with all of the regulations associated with hazmat.
You share the responsibility for compliance with your fellow crew members and other crews you are working with for the safe transportation of the hazmat cars. You should be informed regarding the placement of the cars that you are transporting and comply with the switching and train placement requirements. When a train is made up containing the hazmat cars, you should know the proper shipping papers are available and the placards are in place. You should carry with you the Emergency Response Handbook and any other hazmat documents required by the railroad. You should insist the training you are required to receive is meaningful and prepares you for the level of responsibility the regulations require.
Most of the hazmat regulations that apply to railroad carriers are found in §49 CFR 174 - Carriage by Rail. The regulations apply to railroad carriers, and by extension, to their employees. Those employees must be trained in accordance with the regulation regarding their duties when handling cars containing hazardous materials. Locomotive engineers and trainmen are considered hazmat employees. It will be helpful to understand some of the definitions used in the regulation.
A "carrier" is a person engaged in the transportation of passengers or property. Common, contract, and private carriers are specifically included, so FRA's jurisdictional reach is as broad under the hazmat regulations as it is under the other railroad safety statutes.
Hazmat employee means a person who is employed by a hazmat employer and who, in the course of employment, directly affects hazmat transportation safety. This term includes an individual, including a self-employed individual, employed by a hazmat employer who, during the course of employment:
1. Loads, unloads, or handles hazardous materials;
2. Manufactures, tests, reconditions, repairs, modifies, marks, or otherwise represents containers, drums, or packagings as qualified for use in the transportation of hazardous materials;
3. Prepares hazmats for transportation;
4. Is responsible for safety of transporting hazmats; or
5. Operates a vehicle used to transport hazmats.
All hazmat employees must receive training as prescribed by §49 CFR 172 Subpart H.
The training you receive, among other things, must provide you information to do your job safely as it relates to the transportation of hazmats. That training includes information on how to read shipping papers or the shipping orders, bills of lading, manifests or other shipping documents that serve a similar purpose and contain the information required by the regulations. It should instruct you in restrictions relating to switching and train car placement and placarding requirements. There should be included in the training the relevant requirements for responding to a release of hazardous materials.
This does not include any training for the actual response or cleanup of the hazmat release. That is not our job and only persons who have training in hazardous response are permitted to enter those areas.
Your second question was, "Can the assisting crew perform a brake test on a cut of cars for a train that is not their train?"
§49 CFR 232 - Railroad Power Brakes and Drawbars - does not require a specific train crew to perform the brake test, but it does require a brake test to be performed. The type of test (initial terminal road train airbrake test, road train and intermediate terminal train air brake test, inbound brake equipment inspection, etc) is determined by the circumstances of the event. The requirements for an initial terminal road train airbrake test in §49 CFR 232.12 state:
"1. Each train must be inspected and tested as specified in this section by a qualified person at points -
"i. Where the train is originally made up (initial terminal);
"ii. Where train consist is changed, other than by adding or removing a solid block of cars, and the train brake system remains charged; and
"iii. Where the train is received in interchange if the train consist is changed other than by -
"A. Removing a solid block of cars from the head end or rear end of the train;
"B. Changing motive power;
"C. Removing or changing the caboose; or
"D. Any combination of the changes listed in A, B, and C of this subparagraph.
"Where a carman is to perform the inspection and test under existing or future collective bargaining agreement, in those circumstances a carman alone will be considered a qualified person.
"2. A qualified person participating in the test and inspection or who has knowledge that it was made shall notify the engineer that the initial terminal road train air brake test has been satisfactorily performed. The qualified person shall provide the notification in writing if the road crew will report for duty after the qualified person goes off duty. The qualified person also shall provide the notification in writing if the train that has been inspected is to be moved in excess of 500 miles without being subjected to another test pursuant to either this section or §232.13 of this part."
It does not appear from your question that the circumstances of the brake test required is an initial terminal road train air brake test as described in 232.12. There are other provisions of Part 232 that place a responsibility on you and the train crew for executing a train air brake test and knowing the equipment you handle is safe. Those provisions can be found in: 232.10, General rules; locomotives; and 232.11, Train air brake system tests. They state:
"232.10(a) "Air brake and hand brake equipment on locomotives including tender must be inspected and maintained in accordance with the requirements of the Locomotive Inspection and United States Safety Appliance Acts and related orders and regulations of the Federal Railroad Administrator.
"(b) It must be known that air brake equipment on locomotives is in a safe and suitable condition for service.
"232.11 Train air brake system tests. 232.11(a) Supervisors are jointly responsible with inspectors, engineers and trainmen for condition of air brake and air signal equipment on motive power and cars to the extent that it is possible to detect defective equipment by required air tests.
"(c) Each train must have the air brakes in effective operating condition, and at no time shall the number and location of operative air brakes be less than permitted by Federal requirements. When piston travel is in excess of 10 1/2 inches, the air brake cannot be considered in effective operating condition."
Your third and final question was, "Is there a published FRA book regarding railroad rules and personal fines that may be charged when an FRA rule is violated, and where can I get a copy?
Many of the regulations have an appendix which lists a schedule of civil penalties. If you have a copy of §49 CFR Parts 200-399, then you can refer to the section that covers the subject and its requirements. You may then determine the penalty from the appendix.
You can get a copy of §49 CFR Parts 200-399 for $50 from: U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328; fax orders (202) 512-2250; phone orders (202) 512-1800.
Keep in mind that these documents are revised and updated frequently.
© 2000 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers