in case of emergency

New rule to require railroads in Texas, beyond to provide hazardous cargo details upon derailment

First responders need to know exactly which hazardous materials are on a train so they can look it up in the government's official guidebook and make sure they have the right protective gear and firefighting tools. Photo by Stefan Gabriel Naghi/Pexels

A new federal rule finalized Monday aims to ensure first responders can find out what hazardous chemicals are on a train almost immediately after a derailment so they can respond appropriately. Texas, a major hub for chemical development, will be affected by the ruling.

Too often in past disasters like last year's fiery Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, firefighters risked their lives trying to extinguish a blaze without knowing the right way to respond. The local fire chief in charge of the response said it took him 45 minutes to learn exactly what was in the 11 burning tank cars on the train, but some firefighters from neighboring departments that came to help said they didn't know what they were dealing with until two hours after the February 3, 2023, crash.

First responders need to know exactly which hazardous materials are on a train so they can look it up in the government's official guidebook and make sure they have the right protective gear and firefighting tools, said Tristan Brown, deputy administrator of the Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration agency that proposed the rule.

Knowing what chemical is involved and how much of it is aboard also affects how big of an evacuation zone might be required to protect the public.

“There are so many different types of hazardous materials being transported across the country on any given day — one in 10 goods that move across the United States — and each one, poses unique risks and hazards, certainly to the folks who are running towards a fire,” Brown said. “But certainly as well for anybody who may be living or working in that vicinity.”

The rule was published just one day ahead of the National Transportation Safety Board's final hearing on the East Palestine derailment, where they will discuss exactly what caused that crash and recommend steps to prevent similar disasters.

Train crews have long carried lists of their cargo in the cabs of their locomotives, but in the middle of the chaos after a derailment those engineers and conductors, who might have moved their locomotives miles down the track, can't always be found right away.

That's part of why the largest freight railroads developed an app called AskRail roughly a decade ago that enables firefighters to quickly look up the details of what each train carries. But not every firefighter had the app, and cell phones don't always have a signal strong enough to work in a disaster.

Regulators want the railroads to continue expanding access to that app, including to 911 centers, so information reaches first responders sooner. The railroads have been expanding access over the past year. The Association of American Railroads trade group estimates some 2.3 million first responders now have access to that information as a result of the effort to expand into dispatch centers.

The six biggest railroads also make train cargo information immediately available through the chemical industry's hazardous materials hotlines in the U.S. and Canada known as the CHEMTREC and CANUTEC, emergency call centers.

Norfolk Southern said that in addition to AskRail it is working with a different program called RapidSOS that will allow the railroad to directly send information about its trains to first responders after a derailment — instead of forcing them to look up the details in AskRail. The railroad said its work fits well with the new rule.

But the new federal rule also applies to the hundreds of smaller railroads that aren't involved in AskRail. Even railroads that only have one or two employees now must have a plan to get the crucial details of their cargo to the local fire department quickly, even if its as simple as having the fire chief's cell phone number at the ready. Railroads also must test their plan at least once a year.

“In a hazmat incident, firefighters and first responders arriving on scene need to know what kind of hazardous materials are present so they can protect themselves and their communities,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.

It's not clear how this rule might have changed the outcome in East Palestine, but more information could have helped responding firefighters.

The derailment prompted a nationwide reckoning over railroad safety and prompted Congress to propose changes and regulators like Buttigieg to urge railroads to do more to prevent derailments.

The Federal Railroad Administration has issued various advisories about different aspects of railroad operations, but the reforms in Congress have stalled because Republicans wanted to wait for the final NTSB report and regulators have had only limited success making changes.

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A View From HETI

Scott Gale, executive director for Halliburton Labs, has died after a hard-fought battle with cancer. Photo via Rice University

Houston energy and innovation leader Scott Gale died on September 24 after a years-long fight with cancer. He was 40 years old.

Gale was the inaugural executive director for Halliburton Labs, which launched in 2020. Prior to that role, he lead global strategy initiatives for Halliburton. A Brigham Young University graduate, he received his MBA from Rice University in 2019, where he co-founded the Jones Student Association for Executives. After his graduation, he served on the the Rice Business Alumni Association Board and the Energy Advisory Board for the Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator.

"Scott made an impact with his incredible kindness, energy, and talent," Dale Winger, managing director at Halliburton Labs, tells InnovationMap. "Scott was passionate about his family, his friends, his community, and his work. He provided incredible creativity and drive to bring Halliburton Labs to life within Halliburton, and despite a terrible cancer diagnosis, Scott continued to collaborate and build connections that launched the inaugural Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week. Work and play were always fun with Scott. His generosity and dedication to strengthen the Houston innovation ecosystem will be missed, yet his legacy endures.”

Gale was also a voice actor and the co-host of two podcasts: Rice University's Owl Have You Know Podcast, which shares experiences of Rice's business community, and the Curiosity podcast, which explored optimism and curiosity with guests and co-host Brad Rossacci.

"A rebellious optimist at his core, Scott believed we need a biased toward action, a mission focused belief system, and a healthy dose of rebellion for good measure," Rossacci, who serves as creative director at Accenture, says. "Carving his own path in the universe, Scott discovered his life’s work and unceasingly committed himself to helping humanity deepen their curiosity, building connective tissue across society, and advancing the future of energy on the shoulders of the giants who came before him. Ultimately, fulfilling his infinite ambitions and creating an echo that will reverberate in the cosmos for eternity."

One month ago, he stepped away from his role at Halliburton Labs, sharing his cancer journey in a message shared on LinkedIn. In the post, he encouraged his whole community to "go out and live a life that echoes," and ended with "onward," something Gale regularly imparted when he spoke on progress within energy and innovation.

Earlier this month during the Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week, which Gale was instrumental in creating but unable to attend due to the progression of his illness, the Energy Tech Nexus awarded its Nexus Community Award to Gale, and his father, Andrew Gale, accepted the award on his behalf.

"He is very focused on the community in Houston and the tech industry," Andrew Gale said about his son when accepting the award, "he feels so honored to be given the opportunity to be able to have an influence."

In addition to his father and his mother, JoAnna, Scott is survived by his wife of 18 years, Nicole, and their four children, as well as his seven siblings — Siara, Shanna, Spencer, Seth, Shalya, Sam, and Shane. In honor of his brother, Sam launched a GoFundMe campaign for his nieces and nephew's education, and donations are currently being accepted.

In his obituary, his family shared something Scott regularly said as he battled his cancer with countless hospital visits and experimental treatments: “I’m not a doctor, but I’m pretty sure if you die, the cancer dies at the same time. That’s not a loss. That’s a draw.”

Earlier this year, he joined the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week and call for collaboration within the ecosystem.

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

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