Hazardous Substances Railway Accidents More Harmful

Accidents that occur while transporting hazardous substances by railroads are more harmful to the health of the general public than hazardous materials accidents from other modes of transport and from fixed facilities, according to a recent study by federal officials said the Bureau of National Affairs on February 21.

The study found that railroad hazardous substance emergency "events" in a five-year time period occurred most often in or near areas that are more densely populated and more often at times when residents are more likely to affect the general public than employees of the railroad or emergency response personnel. Officials from the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry conducted the study.

The study used data from the Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, which is maintained by ATSDR. The database contains information on hazardous substance releases and threatened releases. States collect the data on releases and submit it to ATSDR on a quarterly basis.

The report covers HSEES data for the 1993 to 1998 time period from 14 states: Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

In that time period, 30,346 hazardous substance emergency events were reported to the HSEES system. Of these events, about 20 percent were transportation related. The largest percentage of railroad events during the time period studied, 35.5 percent, occurred in Texas, while New Hampshire and Rhode Island reported no railroad events, the study found.

While the percentage of events from rail transport was small, the number of such events rose during the period. There were 84 rail events in 1993, but 177 in 1998, the study found.

"Although a statistically rare occurrence, the effects on public health from the release of hazardous substances during rail transportation are potentially catastrophic," the study found.

According to the study, at least one residence was within a quarter mile of 45.9 percent of the railroad events, compared to 37.1 percent of "non-railroad" events, the study said.

In addition, 49.4 percent of railroad events occurred on week nights between 6 PM and 6 AM or on weekends. For non-railroad events, the percentage occurring between these hours was 41.7 percent.

The data also showed that railroad events are more likely to affect the general public. The study found that of all victims in railroad events, 40.8 percent were members of the public, while 40.2 percent were employees of the railroad responsible for the event and 19 percent were emergency response personnel.

The study, "Public Health Risks of Railroad Hazardous Substance Emergency Events," was published in the February issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, a publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Representatives from the Railway Workers Hazardous Materials Training Program in Pinehurst, NC and the National Clearinghouse for Worker Safety & Health Training in Bethesda, MD also participated in the study.