Risk Assessment Processes for Hazardous Materials Transportation

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 103: Risk Assessment Processes for Hazardous Materials Transportation seeks to provide an overview of the use of risk assessment in hazardous materials transport, including hazardous wastes. While it addresses the problem of risk assessment for use in rule making, the document focuses on the needs and means to prevent, reduce, mitigate, and respond to hazardous material transport risks from the perspective of local jurisdictions. Three specific recommendations are made as a result of this study: 1. A study is needed to define the benefits, problems, and costs of using risk analysis criteria for decision making in establishing federal, state, and local rules and regulations for hazardous material transport. 2. A further, formal delineation of the scoping analysis, examples of implementation, and wide dissemination of its application, should be undertaken. In formalizing the scoping analysis, methods must be developed to specify the minimum quantities for consideration. 3. Studies should be undertaken to analytically address the relative risks of intermodal hazardous material transport.