Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 193 / Thursday, October 6, 2005 / Notices 58503 

1Linwood Yard on the Indiana & Ohio Railway 

is also known as Undercliff Yard. 

and also must be received by 5 p.m., 

October 21, 2005. Oral testimony before 

the GSP Subcommittee of the TPSC will 

be limited to five-minute presentations 

that summarize or supplement 

information contained in briefs or 

statements submitted for the record. 

Post-hearing briefs or statements will be 

accepted if they conform with the 

regulations cited below and are 

submitted, in English, by 5 p.m., 

November 14, 2005. Parties not wishing 

to appear at the public hearing may 

submit post-hearing written briefs or 

statements, in English, by 5 p.m., 

November 14, 2005. 

Requirements for Submission 

In order to facilitate prompt 

processing of submissions, USTR 

strongly urges and prefers electronic email submissions only in response to 

this notice. Hand-delivered submissions 

will not be accepted. These submissions 

should be single-copy transmissions in 

English with the total submission not to 

exceed 20 single-spaced standard lettersize pages. E-mail submissions should 

use the following subject line: ‘‘2005 

GSP Review’’ and, as appropriate 

‘‘Notice of Intent to Testify’’ or Written 

Comments.’’ Documents must be 

submitted in English in one of the 

following formats: MSWord (.DOC), 

WordPerfect (.WPD), or text (.TXT) files. 

Documents may not be submitted as 

electronic image files or contain 

imbedded images (for example, ‘‘.JPG,’’

‘‘.TIF,’’ ‘‘.PDF,’’ ‘‘.BMP,’’ or ‘‘.GIF’’). 

Supporting documentation submitted as 

spreadsheets are acceptable as Excel 

files, formatted for printing on 81⁄2 x 11 

inch paper. To the extent possible, any 

data attachments to the submission 

should be included in the same file as 

the submission itself, and not as 

separate files. 

If the submission contains business 

confidential information, a nonconfidential version of the submission 

must also be submitted that indicates 

where confidential information was 

redacted by inserting asterisks where 

material was deleted. In addition, the 

confidential submission must be clearly 

marked ‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’

at the top and bottom of each page of the 

document. The non-confidential version 

must also be clearly marked at the top 

and bottom of each page (either 

‘‘PUBLIC VERSION’’ or ‘‘NONCONFIDENTIAL’’). Documents that are 

submitted without any marking will be 

considered public documents. For any 

document containing business 

confidential information submitted as 

an electronic attached file to an e-mail 

transmission, the file name of the 

business confidential version should 

begin with the characters ‘‘BC–’’, and 

the file name of the public version 

should begin with the characters ‘‘P–’’. 

The ‘‘P–’’ or ‘‘BC–’’ should be followed 

by the name of the party (government, 

company, union, association, etc.) 

making the submission. 

E-mail submissions should not 

include separate cover letters or 

messages in the message area of the email; information that might appear in 

any cover letter should be included 

directly in the attached file containing 

the submission itself, including the 

sender’s e-mail address and other 

identifying information. 

The e-mail address for these 

submissions is 

FR0052@USTR.EOP.GOV. Documents 

not submitted in accordance with these 

instructions might not be considered in 

this review. If unable to provide 

submissions by e-mail, please contact 

the GSP Subcommittee to arrange for an 

alternative method of transmission. 

Public versions of all documents 

relating to this review will be available 

for review approximately two weeks 

after the relevant due date by 

appointment in the USTR public 

reading room, 1724 F Street NW., 

Washington, DC. Appointments may be 

made from 9:30 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. 

to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, by 

calling (202) 395–6186. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

procedural questions concerning written 

comments or participation in the public 

hearing, contact Regina Teeter, (202) 

395–9681. All other questions should be 

directed to Marideth Sandler, Executive 

Director of the GSP Program, Office of 

the United States Trade Representative, 

1724 F Street, NW., Room F–220, 

Washington, DC 20508, (202) 395–6971. 

Carmen Suro-Bredie, 

Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee. 

[FR Doc. 05–20089 Filed 10–5–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3190–W5–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Notice of Safety Advisory 2005–04 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Safety Advisory 2005–

04. 

SUMMARY: FRA is issuing Safety 

Advisory 2005–04 advising shippers, 

consignees, and railroads of the dangers 

of allowing cars of ‘‘time-sensitive’’

chemicals to remain undelivered 

beyond their anticipated date of 

placement and to recommend enhanced 

procedures to avoid such occurrences. 

This action is being taken to improve 

the safety and reliability of hazardous 

materials shipments by railroad. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas A. Phemister, Railroad Safety 

Specialist (Hazardous Materials), 

Hazardous Materials Division, Office of 

Safety Assurance and Compliance, 

Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 1120 

Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 

20590–0001 (telephone: (202) 493–6050; 

e-mail: tom.phemister@fra.dot.gov). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

At 6:40 p.m. EDT on August 28, 2005, 

in Cincinnati, OH, fire department 

personnel responded to a report of 

smoke coming from a tank car in a 

railroad yard (Linwood Yard 1) operated 

by the Indiana and Ohio Railway 

Company (IORY). As shipped, tank car 

PLCX 224841 contained 23,543.97 

gallons of styrene monomer, stabilized 

(170,966.7 pounds at the loading 

temperature of 60° F.). Styrene 

monomer, stabilized, is a class 3 

(flammable liquid) material. As a result 

of the release residents were evacuated 

within a 1 mile radius, later reduced to 

a 1⁄2 mile radius and, by the end of the 

fourth day, the exclusion zone was 

reduced further to the immediate area 

around the car. The Environmental 

Protection Agency’s Pollution Report 

indicates that, initially, 800 people were 

evacuated. In addition, four schools 

closed, and the Ohio River was closed 

to traffic for a short time. The incident 

lasted approximately 5 days. 

FRA’s preliminary investigation 

indicates that the cause of the incident 

was a polymerization of the styrene 

monomer in the tank car due to the 

deterioration of the inhibiting agent 

(para-tertiary butylcatechol) as a result 

of the extended time in transportation. 

The shipment consisted of 99.91% 

Styrene Monomer and .09% of other 

components (the largest identifiable 

component was the inhibiting agent) 

and was offered into transportation on 

December 30, 2004 by Westlake Styrene, 

Sulphur, LA, and consigned to Queen 

City Terminals, Cincinnati, OH, under 

bill of lading number 80435877. 

Movement records show that the car 

made a normal trip to the IORY, arriving 

at interchange between the Norfolk 

Southern Railway Company and the 

IORY (at Sharonville, OH) on January 

21, 2005. IORY records show the car 

was moved from the interchange yard to 

58504 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 193 / Thursday, October 6, 2005 / Notices 

2A similar requirement, applicable to compressed 

gases in tank cars and multi-unit tank cars, appears 

at 49 CFR 173.314(g)(1). 

3Adapted from Hawley’s Condensed Chemical 

Dictionary, 14th edition,  2001, John Wiley & 

Sons, New York. 

4The AAR’s Circular No. OT–55–H was issued 

August 25, 2005, and became effective September 

1, 2005, replacing Circular No. OT–55–G. 5 49 CFR 174.14. 6 49 CFR 173.22. 

McCullough Yard where it stayed for 

approximately 5 or 6 weeks before it 

was moved to Linwood Yard on March 

12, 2005. From the time the car was 

interchanged to IORY until smoke was 

observed on August 28, 2005, FRA has 

found no records indicating that the 

IORY attempted to contact Queen City 

Terminals to arrange for delivery of the 

car. 

Time-Sensitive Commodities 

Each year, America’s railroads safely 

transport more than 1.7 million 

hazardous materials shipments to their 

destinations. Certain hazardous 

materials pose particular risks if not 

transported, and delivered, promptly. 

Among these are cryogenic materials, 

which must be transported, and 

maintained, at very low temperatures. 

Federal hazardous materials regulations 

(49 CFR 173.319(a)(3)) require that: 

The shipper shall notify the Federal 

Railroad Administration whenever a tank car 

containing any flammable cryogenic liquid is 

not received by the consignee within 30 days 

from the date of shipment. Notification to the 

Federal Railroad Administration may be 

made by e-mail to Hmassist@fra.dot.gov or 

telephone call to (202) 493–6229.2

Another group of chemicals are timesensitive because they are shipped with 

a stabilizing or inhibiting chemical that 

retards the chemical’s natural tendency 

to polymerize. Polymerization is a 

chemical reaction in which a large 

number of relatively simple molecules 

combine to form complex chains of 

macromolecules, often times with the 

evolution of heat and, in closed 

containers like tank cars, pressure. Of 

interest here, this process is how styrene 

monomer becomes the useful 

polystyrene that is so easily colored, 

molded, and fabricated.3 Of course, 

polymerization is not intended to occur 

while the material is being transported, 

which is why it is shipped with an 

inhibiting agent. 

The members of the Association of 

American Railroads (AAR) and the 

American Short Line and Regional 

Railroad Association have adopted the 

recommendations contained in AAR’s 

Circular OT–55-H, ‘‘Recommended 

Railroad Operating Practices for 

Transportation of Hazardous 

Materials.’’ 4 This package of 

recommended procedures includes 

suggestions for time-sensitive materials. 

It places responsibility on the railroads 

for monitoring these shipments and 

escalating their response as necessary 

when any car with a time-sensitive 

product is delayed in transit. The 

circular includes a list of 20-day timesensitive products and a list of 30-day 

time-sensitive products. Products with a 

20-day time-in-transit limit include 

Ethylene, refrigerated liquid; Hydrogen, 

refrigerated liquid; Chloroprene, 

stabilized; Methyl Methacrylate 

Monomer, uninhibited; and Hydrogen 

Chloride, refrigerated liquid. Products 

with a 30-day time-in-transit limit 

include Styrene monomer, stabilized 

and Recycled Styrene. 

Recommendations 

1. FRA strongly encourages all 

railroads to develop procedures that 

conform to AAR Circular OT–55-H and 

to assure that railroad employees 

responsible for the movement of timesensitive chemicals are familiar with 

and clearly understand these 

procedures. Such actions will help 

ensure that these materials reach their 

destinations in a timely way. We note 

that, in accordance with the Hazardous 

Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR 

parts 171–180), rail carriers must make 

every effort to expedite hazardous 

materials shipments.5

2. FRA recommends that shippers and 

consignees monitor the progress of timesensitive materials that they have 

shipped and ordered. While the 

railroads have the primary 

responsibility to monitor the movement 

of freight along their tracks, close 

attention by shippers and consignees 

will provide an additional level of 

safety. A shipper sending a timesensitive load to a consignee should call 

the consignee (or use fax or e-mail) and 

let that party know a car is on the way 

and should arrive before the expiration 

of an appropriate number of days. As 

the due date approaches, either the 

shipper or the consignee, or both, 

should contact the railroad(s) involved 

for a report on how the car is moving. 

Some shippers and receivers have 

enough volume of railroad traffic to 

warrant the installation of automated 

car monitoring equipment or to hire car 

monitoring services. FRA is not 

prescribing how this extra involvement 

should take place, but the agency will 

evaluate this activity to determine the 

need for any future regulatory or other 

agency action. 

3. The HMR require each person who 

offers a hazardous material for 

transportation in commerce to class and 

describe that material correctly.6 While 

the AAR’s OT–55–H includes a list of 

time-sensitive materials, and 49 CFR 

173.314 and 173.319 regulate specific 

sub-sets, there are many other products 

shipped as ‘‘stabilized’’ or ‘‘inhibited.’’

Each of these has a chemical added, an 

inert gas blanket applied, or a shipping 

condition (such as cooling) utilized to 

promote product stability, purity, and 

safety. FRA recommends that shippers 

and consignees work with the railroads 

to explore ways to reduce the risks in 

transporting the full range of timesensitive materials. One good start 

would be to apply the recommendations 

in this notice and the concepts in the 

industry’s circular to such materials. 

FRA will be monitoring hazardous 

materials movements to ensure that 

those who offer for transportation and 

transport such chemicals in commerce 

work together to minimize the safety 

risks associated with the movement of 

time-sensitive materials. 

FRA’s investigation into the styrene 

incident in Cincinnati is not yet 

complete, but the fact that a car of timesensitive material, carrying an inhibitor, 

was apparently allowed to languish on 

the same railroad for seven months is 

not acceptable. Enhanced efforts by the 

chemical producers, users, and carriers 

to monitor their shipments 

appropriately will further reduce the 

already low likelihood of a similar 

occurrence happening again. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 

29, 2005. 

Daniel C. Smith, 

Associate Administrator for Safety. 

[FR Doc. 05–20097 Filed 10–5–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Finance Docket No. 34753] 

Central Illinois Railroad Company—

Operation Exemption—Rail Line of the 

City of Peoria, IL 

Central Illinois Railroad Company 

(CIRY), a Class III rail carrier, has filed 

a verified notice of exemption under 49 

CFR 1150.41, et seq., to operate a line 

of railroad owned by the City of Peoria, 

IL (the City), extending easterly 

approximately 1.9 miles from a point of 

connection with the Peoria Subdivision 

of the Union Pacific Railroad Company 

(UP) at approximately UP milepost 71.5 

to a point a short distance west of