PHMSA Finalizes Rail Safety Rule to Aid First Responders in Hazmat Incidents

“We heard first-hand from firefighters that were responding to the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine that they and other first responders need hazardous materials train consists as soon as an incident occurs,” PHMSA Deputy Administrator Tristan Brown reported during the June 24 announcement of the agency’s final rule requiring railroads to provide train consist information. (PHMSA Photograph)

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on June 24 reported finalizing a new rule that would require railroads “to proactively provide” real-time, electronic information about rail hazmat shipments to first responders and to the primary Public Safety Answering Point (for example, a 9-1-1 call center or emergency responder phone app such as the AskRail Mobile App) “as soon as the railroad is aware of an accident or incident involving hazardous materials.”

PHMSA in June 2023 proposed the rule, aimed at protecting first responders and improving public safety; it was backed later that year by a coalition of 13 state Attorneys General.

The final rule (download below) requires all railroads to generate, in hard copy and electronic versions, and maintain “real-time train consist information for shipments containing hazardous materials,” and provide that information to first responders, emergency response officials, and law enforcement personnel along the train route who could be or are involved in the response to, or investigation of, an accident, incident, or public health or safety emergency involving the rail transportation of hazardous materials in advance of their arrival to an accident or incident, according to PHMSA. Train consist information includes “the quantity and position of the hazardous materials on the train, the train’s origin and destination, emergency response information, and a designated emergency point of contact at the railroad,” the agency said.

“Additionally, immediately following either an accident involving a train carrying hazardous materials or an incident involving the release or suspected release of hazardous material from a train, the railroad operating the train must make an emergency notification telephonically and provide train consist information electronically to the primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) responsible for the area where the event occurred as well as the track owner (if the track owner is different from the railroad operating the train),” reported PHMSA, which is amending the Hazardous Materials Regulations to include the new requirements. “PHMSA also adopts a requirement that railroads must test their emergency notification system at least annually.”

The agency said that the new rule will ensure firefighters can fully utilize its 2024 Emergency Response Guidebook (as well as the mobile phone ERG app), which the agency recently distributed to nearly 2 million first responders across the nation as part of a quadrennial effort to equip first responders with information on how to respond to each type of hazmat incident.

“We heard first-hand from firefighters that were responding to the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine [Ohio on Feb. 3, 2023] that they and other first responders need hazardous materials train consists as soon as an incident occurs,” said PHMSA Deputy Administrator Tristan Brown. “This information will ensure the heroes that are responding to an incident can prepare for what they will encounter instead of waiting until after they get on scene to try to access this vital information.”

Norfolk Southern (NS) on June 24 released the following statement on the rule:

“We applaud the aims of the DOT’s new rule, which aligns with the work we’ve been undertaking to support first responders. Last year, we were the first Class I railroad to commit to improving our communication during an emergency through our partnership with RapidSOS, a digital platform that connects communications devices with over 16,000 emergency response agencies. 

“As part of this collaboration, NS will automatically share consist information through RapidSOS with first responders after an incident. Once complete, this integration aims to cover 100 percent of the emergency response agencies across our rail network, providing first responders with real-time access to train consists, train locations, and AskRail emergency response information.”  

For more on the NS partnership, read: “RapidSOS Preps First Responders on Major Derailments.”