According to research presented by the National Academies Press, most hazardous
materials are transported by truck. In fact, commercial trucks transport
about 94% of daily shipments and 69% of tons of all hazardous materials
shipped every day in the United States. Trains transport 1% of daily shipments
and 7% of tons shipped daily. Trucks, trains, boats, and airplanes transport
more than 3 billion tons of hazardous waste in the U.S. each year. Laws
like the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act could not be more important
with such vast quantities of materials being transported throughout the country.