News

Despite the explosives industry’s exceptional safety record in transportation, this week the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) modified the terms of special permits (SPs) used by the explosives industry to transport bulk materials for blasting.  Most of the new conditions apply immediately upon receipt of the modified SP giving carriers no lead time to implement the new conditions.  When asked how the agency expected carriers to immediately comply with the new terms, a top PHMSA official told IME that industry should have known from the show cause letters that changes were coming and should have been prepared. 

Some of the new requirements involve physical changes to bulk trucks and new procedures that drivers must be trained on.  It was impossible for industry to forsee the specificity of these changes and thus implement these new requirements immediately.

Additionally, the modified SPs are riddled with technical errors and apparent omissions by PHMSA.  For example, incorrect references to 49 CFR, proper shipping names, and UN numbers exist in the modifications.  SPs that previously applied to private and for-hire carriers now apply only to private carriers.  Some of the hazardous materials previously allowed on the vehicle by the SP are no longer listed and in some cases, new hazardous materials are listed.  PHMSA has yet to clarify whether these changes are: intended to remove certain detonators, boosters, and gassing solutions from the vehicles; intended to shift industry to different UN numbers; or was an oversight. 

The modifications not only apply to bulk shot service vehicles but also apply to tractor-tank trailers.