Document Preview:

Shipper and Carrier Strategies for Hazardous Material Transportation

Introduction

Hazardous material” can be defined as any material that, because of its quantity, concentration, or physical or chemical characteristics, may pose a real hazard to human health or the environment. Hazardous materials include the following categories: Flammable and Combustible Material, Toxic Material, Corrosive Material, Oxidizers Aerosols, Compressed Gases. The transportation of hazardous material has become one of the more complicated procedures for shippers and carriers to achieve since September 11, 2001. With the increase in security for all hazardous material transportation, companies are now being forced to retrain employees, update information, and reroute certain merchandise due to route restrictions. These implications have placed a high significance for shippers and carriers to be on the same page when shipping hazardous material. Transportation engineers and planners have come up with strategies for the transportation of hazardous materials that will help shipper and carriers adjust to the rules and regulation implemented by the DOT. What are the strategies that are in place for transporting hazardous materials? What effect do these strategies have on lead times? What regulations for hazardous materials where implemented Pre-9/11 and the changes that were enforced Post 9/11? These are questions that will be answered in my term paper.

Literature Review

In today’s business world the everyday process of transporting raw materials is becoming a vital part of many industries. Tens of millions of tons of toxic chemicals, radioactive nuclear waste, commercial explosives, flammable gasoline and other hazardous materials that are transported every year by trucks and trains across America.
Today carriers and shippers are faced with heightened security resulting from 9/11, with both trains and trucks being attractive targets for terrorists. Route planning becomes a…