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William H. Tate Mark D. Abkowitz 1 1 Emerging Technologies Applicable to 2 Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety and Security 3 William H. Tate1 4 Mark D. Abkowitz2 5 ABSTRACT 6 7 This paper describes a project sponsored by the Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research 8 Program (HMCRP) to determine the most promising emerging technologies for the safety and 9 security of hazardous materials (hazmat) shipments. The project’s focus was on hazmat 10 transportation of all modes (i.e., highway, rail, marine, air, and pipeline). A requirements-based 11 gap analysis methodology was utilized to screen and down-select an initially large number of 12 potential candidate technologies. The methodology resulted in the identification of most 13 promising emerging technology areas for further examination. Each of these technology areas 14 was further characterized in terms of its applicability to hazmat transportation safety and security 15 and its outlook for deployment. In addition to describing project activities and findings, the 16 paper offers a commentary on overarching considerations influencing the development and 17 deployment of technologies with the potential to enhance hazmat transportation safety and 18 security within the coming decade. 19 20 INTRODUCTION 21 22 Technological advances have always been an important contributor to reducing the occurrence 23 and consequences of accidental and intentional releases involving the transport of hazmat. With 24 today’s rapid pace of technological development, however, the hazmat transportation industry 25 must increase its knowledge and awareness of products entering the marketplace or under 26 development that could offer additional safety and security benefits. In response to this need, the 27 study described herein was performed under the auspices of the HMCRP, with the following 28 objectives: (1) develop a list of near-term and longer-term technologies that are candidates for 29 use in enhancing the safety and security of hazmat transportation, as applied by shippers, 30 carriers, emergency responders, or government regulatory and enforcement agencies, (2) identify 31 emerging technologies that hold the greatest promise of being introduced during these time 32 spans, and (3) identify potential impediments to and opportunities for their development, 33 deployment, and maintenance. All five hazmat transportation modes were considered. 34 In order to clarify the thrust and boundaries of the research, the following assumptions 35 were made that governed the study approach: 1) the hazmat transportation phase that the 36 emerging technologies are intended to protect is in-transit – even if not moving, and 2) existing 37 technologies that are in use by other industries – but have not been adopted by transportation – 38 are valid candidates for consideration. 1 Project Manager, Battelle Memorial Institute, 505 King Avenue, Columbus, OH 43201; Tel: 614-424-3315; E-mail: tatew@battelle.org 2 Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B 351831, Nashville, TN 37235; Tel: 615-343-3436; E-mail: mark.abkowitz@vanderbilt.edu TRB 2011 Annual Meeting Original paper submittal - not revised by author.
