Authors: U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO)

Date of Publication:  November 1989

Sponsoring Agency:  U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO)

Performing Organization:  U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO)

Report No: GAO/RCED-90-43

Abstract:

In 1988, over 1.1 million carloads of poisons, chemicals, pesticides, and other hazardous materials were moved by rail in about 100,000 tank cars and in other types of containers. Concerned about railroad safety, the Chairman, House Committee on Energy and Commerce, asked GAO to determine whether federal safety programs were adequate to protect the public from being injured in train accidents. This report, the second in a series, (1) evaluates the effectiveness of the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) hazardous materials inspection program and (2) discusses the extent to which the Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) has improved its hazardous materials information system and established a program to register hazardous materials shippers.
 

No. of Pages:  40