TRANSPORTATION - BTS - Bureau of Transportation Statistics

share of moving chemical products. For moving petroleum, trucks are also forecast tocontinue to increase their market share.Radioactive shipments, considered to be specialized hazmat traffic, will remain about 1percent of total annual shipments. Although these shipments are a small proportion of thetraffic, they still may pose increased safety challenges. Ongoing legislative efforts to establisha permanent spent fuel waste repository in the United States could increase the number ofspent fuel shipments as much as fourfold annually by the year 2025, from 100 to more than400 shipments. Combined with transport and burial of other nuclear wastes at the WasteIsolation Pilot Project site in New Mexico, an increased number of highly radioactiveshipments will traverse the U.S. rail, highway and, to a lesser extent, waterway networks.Along with growth in the U.S. economy and its hazmat traffic base, continued globalization oftrade will pose additional safety challenges. Not only are export and import trade shipmentsexpected to grow in number, but the complexity of that traffic will grow as well. Differinghazmat regulations, safety policies, and technological proficiencies will present continuingchallenges to ensuring the safety of global hazmat traffic. Current efforts to harmonize U.S.hazmat regulations with internationally endorsed practices must keep pace with the safetydemands placed on the transportation network.As changes in the workforce continue, the need for education and training in the hazmatcommunity will also increase. The U.S. transportation system, including the hazmat sector,will be characterized by an aging population and higher levels of turnover among employees.Coupled with higher demand for hazmat shipments and, consequently, increased technicalknowledge, there will be an acute need for education and training of hazmat employees by theyear 2025. As underscored in the 1996 Valuejet accident, the need for shipper and air carrierpersonnel to be knowledgeable about the USDOT’s hazardous materials regulations will becritical.Technology will play a vital role in future hazmat transportation. Offsetting continueddevelopment of new hazardous materials and growth in their traffic will be improvements inmaterials technology. Stronger, more durable materials will make the packaging—for example,boxes, canisters, barrels, containers, and tank cars—more resistant to damage during normalhandling and transport, and even under accident conditions. Other technology advances mayalso help prevent hazmat incidents from occurring in the first place. Computer software, forexample, may improve the ability to translate shipping papers, packaging labels, and otherdocumentation and communication media into other languages or into a single, commontrading language.For monitoring hazmat traffic and managing incidents when they do occur, improvedinformation and telecommunications technology will be critical. Tracking sensitive cargoswill be easier and more affordable as various global satellite systems become operational andas wireless handsets become increasingly “connected” to the Internet. Similarly, wirelesstelecommunications and other information technology advances will improve the ability ofemergency response personnel to manage events at hazardous materials accident sites.Challenges to the USDOT’s ability to manage hazmat traffic and trade will grow asglobalization increases. Helping to meet these challenges will be continued improvements inhazmat education and training, aided by a confluence of technology improvements anddeployment.3-61