Coordinated Transit Response Planning and Operations Support Tools for Mitigating Impacts of All-Hazard Emergency Events

This report summarizes current computer simulation capabilities and the availability of near-real-time data sources allowing for a novel approach of analyzing and determining optimized responses during disruptions of complex multi-agency transit system. The authors integrated a number of technologies and data sources to detect disruptive transit system performance issues, analyze the impact on overall system-wide performance, and statistically apply the likely traveler choices and responses. The analysis of unaffected transit resources and the provision of temporary resources are then analyzed and optimized to minimize overall impact of the initiating event

A Decision Support System for Intermodal Logistics under Considerations for Costs of Security

Global supply chains have been challenged by the increased awareness of security risks, including those of terrorism, theft, and damage, and the potential in these risks for significant damages. Additionally, the pressure security initiatives and regulations, particularly at sea and air ports, threaten to add to congestion at these hubs in the international flow of goods and materials. Improving the efficiency of the flow of goods and materials, and therefore the stability and competitiveness of their supply chains, is the focus of this research. A decision support to combine strategic objectives with operational transport decision making is built to incorporate security considerations

Tier 1 Highway Security Sensitive Material Dynamic Risk Management

Each year, over 2 billion tons of hazardous materials are shipped in the United States, with over half of that being moved on commercial vehicles. Given their relatively poor or nonexistent defenses and inconspicuousness, commercial vehicles transporting hazardous materials are an easy target for terrorists. Before carriers or security agencies recognize that something is amiss, their contents could be detonated or released. From 2006 to 2015, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) recorded 144,643 incidents involving a release of hazardous materials. Although there were no known instances of terrorism being the cause, accidental releases involving trucks carrying hazardous materials are not an uncommon occurrence. At this time, no systems have been developed and operationalized to monitor the movement of vehicles transporting hazardous materials. The purpose of this dissertation is to propose a comprehensive risk management system for monitoring Tier 1 Highway Security Sensitive Materials (HSSMs) which are shipped aboard commercial vehicles in the U.S. Chapter 2 examines the history and current state of hazardous materials transportation. Since the late 19th century, the federal government often introduced new regulations in response to hazardous materials incidents. However, over the past 15 years few binding policies or legislation have been enacted. This demonstrates that government agencies and the U.S. Congress are not inclined to introduce new laws and rules that could hamper business. In 2003, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and other agencies led efforts to develop a prototype hazardous materials tracking system (PHTS) that mapped the location of hazardous materials shipments and quantified the level of risk associated with each one. The second half of this chapter uses an in-­‐depth gap analysis to identify deficiencies and demonstrate in what areas the prototype system does not comply with government specifications. Chapter 3 addresses the lack of customized risk equations for Tier 1 HSSMs and develops a new set of risk equations that can be used to dynamically evaluate the level of risk associated with individual hazardous materials shipments. This chapter also discusses the results of a survey that was administered to public and private industry stakeholders. Its purpose was to understand the current state of hazardous materials regulations, the likelihood of hazardous materials release scenarios, what precautionary measures can be used, and what influence social variables may have on the aggregate consequences of a hazardous materials release. The risk equation developed in this paper takes into account the survey responses as well as those risk structures already in place. The overriding goal is to preserve analytical tractability, implement a form that is usable by federal agencies, and provide stakeholders with accurate information about the risk profiles of different vehicles. Due to congressional inaction on hazardous 3 materials transportation issues, securing support from carriers and other industry stakeholders is the most viable solution to bolstering hazardous materials security. Chapter 4 presents the system architecture for The Dynamic Hazardous Materials Risk Assessment Framework (DHMRA), a GIS-­‐based environment in which hazardous materials shipments can be monitored in real time. A case study is used to demonstrate the proposed risk equation; it simulates a hazardous materials shipment traveling from Ashland, Kentucky to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The DHMRA maps risk data, affording security personnel and other stakeholders the opportunity to evaluate how and why risk profiles vary across time and space. DHRMA’s geo-­‐fencing capabilities also trigger automatic warnings. This framework, once fully implemented, can inform more targeted policies to enhance the security of hazardous materials. It will contribute to maintaining secure and efficient supply chains while protecting the communities that live nearest to the most heavily trafficked routes. Continuously monitoring hazardous materials provides a viable way to understand the risks presented by a shipment at a given moment and enables better, more coordinated responses in the event of a release. Implementation of DHRMA will be challenging because it requires material and procedural changes that could disrupt agency operations or business practices — at least temporarily. Nevertheless, DHRMA stands ready for implementation, and to make the shipment of hazardous materials a more secure, safe, and certain process. Although DHMRA was designed primarily with terrorism in mind, it is also useful for examining the impacts of accidental hazardous materials releases. Future iterations of DHMRA could expand on its capabilities by incorporating modeling data on the release and dispersion of toxic gases, liquids, and other substances

Standardization Roadmap for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Version 1.0

This Standardization Roadmap for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Version 1.0 (“roadmap”) represents the culmination of the UASSC’s work to identify existing standards and standards in development, assess gaps, and make recommendations for priority areas where there is a perceived need for additional standardization and/or pre-standardization R&D. The roadmap has examined 64 issue areas, identified a total of 60 gaps and corresponding recommendations across the topical areas of airworthiness; flight operations (both general concerns and application-specific ones including critical infrastructure inspections, commercial services, and public safety operations); and personnel training, qualifications, and certification. Of that total, 40 gaps/recommendations have been identified as high priority, 17 as medium priority, and 3 as low priority. A “gap” means no published standard or specification exists that covers the particular issue in question. In 36 cases, additional R&D is needed. The hope is that the roadmap will be broadly adopted by the standards community and that it will facilitate a more coherent and coordinated approach to the future development of standards for UAS. To that end, it is envisioned that the roadmap will be widely promoted and discussed over the course of the coming year, to assess progress on its implementation and to identify emerging issues that require further elaboration

Standardization Roadmap for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Version 2.0

This Standardization Roadmap for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Version 2.0 (“roadmap”) is an update to version 1.0 of this document published in December 2018. It identifies existing standards and standards in development, assesses gaps, and makes recommendations for priority areas where there is a perceived need for additional standardization and/or pre-standardization R&D. The roadmap has examined 78 issue areas, identified a total of 71 open gaps and corresponding recommendations across the topical areas of airworthiness; flight operations (both general concerns and application-specific ones including critical infrastructure inspections, commercial services, and public safety operations); and personnel training, qualifications, and certification. Of that total, 47 gaps/recommendations have been identified as high priority, 21 as medium priority, and 3 as low priority. A “gap” means no published standard or specification exists that covers the particular issue in question. In 53 cases, additional R&D is needed. As with the earlier version of this document, the hope is that the roadmap will be broadly adopted by the standards community and that it will facilitate a more coherent and coordinated approach to the future development of standards for UAS. To that end, it is envisioned that the roadmap will continue to be promoted in the coming year. It is also envisioned that a mechanism may be established to assess progress on its implementation

Exercise Handbook: What Transportation Security and Emergency Preparedness Leaders Need to Know to Improve Emergency Preparedness, MTI Report 12-08

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has provided extensive general guidance on developing training and exercise programs for public entities, but little had been done to focus that material on the transportation sector specifically. Transportation sector emergency managers have noted that there should be specific guidance for developing exercises that are focused on the operational work of their agencies, in addition to the Logistics Section functions that are usually the focus of transportation sector entities in multi-agency, multi-jurisdiction exercises. The first section of his report provides information on federal training and exercise requirements for transportation sector entities. It summarizes the changes to emergency management programs and requirements that grew out of the Presidential Policy Directive-8 (PPD-8) issuance in early 2011, and the challenges of adult training. The second section is a Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP)-compliant practical handbook using the project management approach that guides transportation sector staff in the creation, development, implementation and wrap-up of federally mandated exercises. It includes scenarios and implementation guidance based on the actual experiences and work of the transportation sector

Conditions Effecting Rural Fire Department Preparedness for Chemical Disasters in Northeast Oklahoma: A Case Study

Throughout history, humankind has struggled with vulnerability and the effects of disasters on the ill prepared. The community and field of disaster research acknowledges fire departments as key stakeholders in preparedness. These agencies commonly conduct pre-fire planning, purchase specialized equipment, and train for a variety of responses. Fire departments operate with certain types of capital, including funding, available personnel, community values and beliefs, political atmospheres, and natural and built environments; which limit or allow preparedness planning. Research has shown that, compared to their urban counterparts, rural communities have fewer trained and prepared personnel, less equipment, and a lack of financial capital with which to prepare for disaster events involving chemicals. Chemical use continues to increase in industry, and recent U.S. legislation has caused shipments through rural communities to escalate, resulting in an increased risk of chemical releases. Fire chiefs understand how the community creates and changes capital used by the fire department. This study examined the impact of community capitals on chemical disaster preparedness in rural Northeast Oklahoma fire departments from the fire chief perspective. The 27 survey participants, and 21 interviewees, revealed that the social capital within the study region was robust. Strong community linkages created support for their local fire department. Although this support did not necessarily result in volunteers, it did result in reduced resistance to preparedness activities. Emergent themes revealed vulnerability in the meager number of capable and available personnel, lack of response equipment and materials, low perceived chemical risk, inadequate time, and inadequate consistent funding to prepare for chemical hazards. While community capitals in rural communities appear lacking, fire departments have found means of coping, allowing them to conduct some preparedness activities; but not for chemical disasters events.Environmental Scienc

The intelligent container concept : issues, initiatives, and implementation

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (p. 104-111).Shipping containers have been under increased scrutiny in recent years for two primary reasons. Within the private sector, they are one component of a continuing process by organizations to use effective supply chain management to their competitive advantage. Within the public sector, they are the central focus of a growing concern over cargo security. Indeed, these issues involve many parties, including regulators, carriers, shippers, container solution providers, research, and academia. Many of the proposed solutions involve new strategies, systems, and technologies applied to containers that fall into what this paper calls the "intelligent container concept." As a relatively nascent field, information is currently very fragmented, standards are still being researched, and few universal goals exist. This study is focused on compiling, understanding, and organizing the universe of options available, the concerns of the parties involved, the relevant and significant initiatives underway or completed, and the issues surrounding implementation.(cont.) While cost and technology are critical components of the debate, this study focuses more on the benefits that the proposed solutions might add and how they can be incorporated into the supply chain. This study is intended to familiarize the reader with the status and extent of the intelligent container field, though does not delve into the cost or technology issues since they vary greatly and are supply chain specific.by Peter Christopher Bryn.S.M

Trope of Containment: Shale Oil, Risk Rhetoric, and the Lac-Mégantic Disaster

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. August 2019. Major: Communication Studies. Advisor: Mark Pedelty. 1 computer file (PDF); vi, 239 pages.My fieldwork was located in Lac-Mégantic, Québec, where a train carrying Bakken shale oil derailed on July 6, 2013 causing a pool fire that killed 47 people. The evacuation of 2,000 residents was a catalyst for public discourse on hazmat-by-rail in North America. This study combines participant observation and oral history with a critical examination of rhetoric used in response to shale oil transportation, neoliberal capitalism, environmental justice, and discourses on sustainability. There have been 26 hazmat derailments since 2013, which occurred despite regulatory fixes, and demonstrate what I call a trope of containment. When rail accidents happen, public safety knowledge is strategically contained to myopic risk frames that benefit industry. My hope is that survivor stories can offer oppositional narratives to the transportation of hydrocarbons along a rail network that sustains itself through regulatory capture. This project also examines relationships between fracking, climate change, and violence created by the production of fossil fuels. My goal is to demonstrate the failures that occur when containment strategies are institutionalized as a safety-based ideology. Secondly, critical pedagogical opportunities exist through an unmasking of rhetoric used to sustain a carbon economy, which works to delay alternative energy solutions to global warming. Included are research opportunities that can fill policy voids left by states with limited funds linking public safety to community education