WASHINGTON (July 23, 2024) – Testifying before the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, the American Chemistry Council’s Jeff Sloan, Senior Director of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs discussed the importance of shipping chemicals by rail and the industry’s commitment to rail safety.
We share the Committee’s goal to advance transportation safety and to protect public health and the environment. We also share the Committee’s gratitude to the emergency responders, government officials, and rail workers for their tireless efforts responding to this incident. In addition, we appreciate the hard work and diligence that the National Transportation Safety Board put into its thorough investigation of the East Palestine derailment. This incident is a strong reminder that more work is needed to further improve freight rail and hazardous materials transportation safety.
Sloan explained how ACC members advance safety through Responsible Care®, the chemical industry’s world-class environmental, health, safety and security performance initiative and support communities and local emergency responders through the CHEMTREC® and TRANSCAER® programs that provide resources and training to respond to hazardous material transportation incidents.
He also highlighted how important chemical shipments by rail are to supporting the nation’s ability to grow food, protect the safety of our water and food supply, produce energy, and make life-saving medicines and equipment.
He stressed to the committee that safety is a shared responsibility and requires a multi-layered approach. “Enhancing rail safety requires a range of measures first, to further reduce derailments and other accidents; second, to minimize the risk that a rail accident will lead to a hazardous material release; and third, to strengthen emergency response and mitigate the impacts of any incident that does occur,” said Sloan.
He continued by saying that ACC supports the committee’s bipartisan efforts and that the “Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2024 (H.R. 8996) and the Railway Safety Act of 2023 (S. 576) provide a solid foundation to further improve the safety of the national rail network, reduce hazardous material risks, and enhance emergency response capabilities.”
Sloan concluded his testimony by committing to work with policymakers and transportation stakeholders to apply the lessons learned from the East Palestine derailment.
