Safety and Security of Railway Hazardous Material Transportation

铁路运输为运输大量危险物质提供了一种安全的解决方案。这包括原油、成品油、氯、乙醇和其他在北美和世界其他地方日常生活中必不可少的产品。虽然加拿大和美国不太可能建设新的管道，但现有管道正在满负荷运转。原油价格正在攀升，原因是运输需求被压抑，以及疫情爆发后经济重新开放，导致中期内铁路运油量上升。尽管通过铁路运输的危险品数量很大，但铁路危险品运输的总体安全记录被认为是可以接受的。然而，灾难性的事故可能而且确实会发生，特别是在运输大量危险物质的时候。例如，2013年的Lac-Mégantic灾难涉及一列载有72车原油的脱轨火车。造成47人死亡，40座建筑和53辆汽车被毁，邻近的河流和湖泊水体遭到环境破坏，成为加拿大历史上最严重的铁路灾难之一。尽管Lac-Mégantic灾难的原因与安全有关，但它突显了如果运送危险物质的火车成为恐怖分子目标可能造成的破坏。事实上，加拿大政府安全专家进行的战略风险评估表明，铁路运输危险物质很容易受到恐怖分子的滥用或破坏，这种恐怖事件的不利影响可能是巨大的。该研究计划概述了两个主要主题和五个相辅相成的研究目标，它们将提高铁路提供安全和有保障的危险运输的能力。特别是，第一个主题(包括三个目标)加强了铁路危险品运输的安全，防止自然因素或人为错误造成的随机事故。第二个主题(包括两个目标)有助于在面临蓄意和恐怖袭击时保障铁路危险品运输的安全。这些研究成果将通过会议报告、会议以及专业和学术文章向学术界同行和行业合作伙伴传播。虽然这项提议的地理区域是北美(特别是加拿大西部和美国)，但其结果将在全球范围内有用。已经与加拿大交通部进行了初步接触，并已开始初步收集数据。此外，我也是铁路申请组(RAS)的积极成员，负责通知并定期参加他们的会议。RAS组织的活动为我提供了获取有关美国危险品运输信息的绝佳机会。从该研究项目开发的工具和技术将导致更稳定和可持续的铁路危险物质，这将保护我们的环境，并在未来几年造福加拿大经济。

Rail transportation provides a safe solution for moving large quantities of hazardous materials known as hazmat. This includes crude oil, refined oil products, chlorine, ethanol, and other products which are essential to daily life across North America and elsewhere in the world. While construction of new pipelines in Canada and the U.S. is unlikely, the existing pipelines are running at their capacity. Crude oil prices are climbing due to the pent-up demand for transportation and re-opening of economies in the aftermath of the pandemic, leading to elevated oil-by-rail volumes in the medium term. Despite high volume of hazmat transported by rail, the overall safety record of rail hazmat transport is considered acceptable. However, catastrophic accidents can and do occur, especially when large volumes of hazmat are transported. For instance, in 2013, the Lac-Mégantic disaster involved a derailed train hauling 72 carloads of crude oil. The impact was 47 deaths, destruction of 40 buildings and 53 vehicles, and environmental damages to adjacent river and lake waterbodies, making it one of the worst rail disasters in Canadian history. Although the cause of the Lac-Mégantic disaster was safety-related, it underscores the devastation that could occur if trains transporting hazmat were targeted by terrorists. In fact, strategic risk assessments conducted by Government of Canada security experts have indicated that the transportation of hazmat by rail is vulnerable to misuse or sabotage by terrorists, and the adverse impacts of such a terrorist event could be significant. This research program outlines two main themes and five complementary research objectives that will advance railways' capability in providing safe and secure hazmat transportation. In particular, the first theme (including three objectives) enhances the safety of railway hazmat transportation against random accidents caused by natural factors or human errors. The second theme (including two objectives) contributes to the security of railway hazmat transportation when facing deliberate and terrorist attacks. This research outcomes will be disseminated to academic peers and industry partners via conference presentations, meetings, and professional and academic articles. While the geographical area of interest for this proposal is North America (in particular, Western Canada and the U.S.), the results will be useful at a global scale. Initial contacts with Transport Canada have been made and preliminary data collection has commenced. Also, I'm an active member of Rail Application Section (RAS) of INFORMS and regularly attend their meetings. The events organized by RAS provide me with excellent opportunities to access information regarding the U.S. hazmat transportation. The tools and techniques developed from this research program will lead to more stable and sustainable railway hazmat that will protect our environment and benefit the Canadian economy in the years to come.