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 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 193 / Thursday, October 6, 2005 / Notices 58505 

1The subject line is proposed to be connected to 

an 8.29-mile rail line known as the Kellar Branch, 

which is owned by the City. The City was granted 

an exemption to construct approximately 1,800 feet 

of connecting track in Peoria in 2004. See City of 

Peoria, IL, D/B/A Peoria, Peoria Heights & Western 

Railroad—Construction of Connecting Track 

Exemption—In Peoria County, IL, STB Finance 

Docket No. 34395 (STB served Sept. 17, 2004). Also, 

CIRY received authority to operate the Kellar 

Branch in 2004. See Central Illinois Railroad 

Company—Operation Exemption—Rail Line of the 

City of Peoria and the Village of Peoria Heights in 

Peoria and Peoria Heights, Peoria County, IL, STB 

Finance Docket No. 34518 (STB served July 28, 

2004). 

University Avenue in Peoria, Peoria 

County, IL.1

Certification is made that CIRY’s 

projected revenues as a result of the 

transaction will not result in the 

creation of a Class II or Class I rail 

carrier. The transaction was scheduled 

to be consummated no earlier than 

September 14, 2005 (7 days after the 

exemption was filed). 

If the verified notice contains false or 

misleading information, the exemption 

is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the 

exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) 

may be filed at any time. The filing of 

a petition to revoke will not 

automatically stay the transaction. 

An original and 10 copies of all 

pleadings, referring to STB Finance 

Docket No. 34753, must be filed with 

the Surface Transportation Board, 1925 

K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423–

0001. In addition, a copy of each 

pleading must be served on Thomas F. 

McFarland, 208 South LaSalle Street, 

Suite 1890, Chicago, IL 60604–1112. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at http:// 

WWW.STB.DOT.GOV. 

Decided: September 29, 2005. 

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Vernon A. Williams, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 05–20020 Filed 10–5–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P