Passage of the 1990 Hazardous Materials Transportation and Uniform Safety Act in the United States will result in state designation of hazardous materials through routes. Several alternative criteria have been recommended for consideration in implementing this policy, many of which represent explicit trade-offs in terms of safety and operating efficiency. The impact of using alternative criteria and criteria weighting for route selection is explored. This is examined through the use of a network analysis tool designed explicitly for hazardous materials distribution risk management. A study region consisting of the truck highway network in Southern California is used to illustrate several considerations that will need to be addressed during the implementation process. A number of findings are reported concerning route selection, risk equity, public perception, and emergency preparedness. Collectively, they identify the types of problems that may be encountered in the establishment of routing guidelinesby the states, implementation of state route selection procedures, and issues related to federal preemption. Areas in need of additional study are also described, with an eye toward establishing some standardization in approach and perhaps analysis tools that would satisfy both state and industry concerns.
Abstract