A hazardous materials incident is the unintentional release of a hazardous material from a package. Transportation incidents can occur during the loading, unloading, transportation or temporary storage of hazardous materials. Investigation Hazardous materials specialists from the Minnesota Department of Transportation investigate an accident to determine if the hazardous materials carried contributed to or caused the accident. Package failure, improper load securement or failure to segregate chemically incompatible hazardous materials can cause or contribute to the severity of an accident or incident. Shippers and carriers may receive a safety audit to examine the responsible party s training programs,vehicle maintenance programs and driver s qualifications and hours of service.
Violations can result in civil or criminal penalties.