How the Study Was Done
The Los Angeles Times began its study of hazardous-material spills in the transportation system by obtaining computer tapes of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Hazardous Material Incident Reporting System.
Richard O’Reilly, Times director of computer analysis, examined 67,657 spills reported to the Department of Transportation from January, 1982, through December, 1991. Spills, most of them quite minor, were reported in or near 6,109 towns and cities in all 50 states.
The data detailed episodes involving 2,900 trucking, railroad, air freight and marine freight companies, both common and private carriers. They were carrying 1,062 different hazardous chemicals and substances for 12,377 shippers nationwide.
The fates of 239 distinct kinds of shipping containers, ranging from cardboard boxes to carboys full of radioactive liquid, were recorded.
The analysis pinpointed two hazards that dwarfed all others in significance: gasoline tankers on streets and highways and old-style tank cars on railroads.
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