Section R14-5-113. Hazardous Materials

A.      All railroad operations which engage in the loading of railroad freight cars for the purpose of transporting hazardous materials by rail in and through Arizona shall be governed by all of the following:

1.        The material to be transported shall be authorized for transportation in freight cars. The freight car selected shall be compatible with the lading and be authorized for the commodity by the United States Department of Trans- portation. All fittings, tank, and safety appurtenances shall be in proper condition for the safe transportation of the product.

2.        Loading operations shall be performed only by persons properly instructed in loading hazardous materials and made responsible for careful compliance with 49 CFR 174.67, as amended and revised through November 1, 1989, incorporated herein by reference, on file with the Office of the Secretary of State and copies available from the United States Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371975M, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15250-7975.

3.        Hand brakes shall be set and wheels blocked on all cars to be loaded.

4.        Caution signs shall be so placed on the track or cars to give necessary warning to persons approaching the cars from the open end of a siding and shall be left in place until after the cars are unloaded or loaded and discon- nected from the loading or unloading connection. The signs shall be of metal or other comparable material, at least 12 inches high by 15 inches wide in size, and bear the words, “STOP--Freight Car Connected”, or “STOP-- Men at Work”, the word “STOP” being in letters at least 4 inches high and other words in letters at least 2 inches high. The letters shall be white on a blue background.

5.        Loading connections shall be securely attached to inlet pipes and other fittings before any discharge valves are opened.

6.        Freight cars shall not be allowed to stand with connec- tions attached after loading is completed. Throughout the entire period of loading, and while the car is connected to the loading device, the car shall be attended by the loader.

7.        If necessary to discontinue loading a freight car for any reason, all loading connections shall be disconnected. All valves first shall be tightly closed, and the closures of all other openings securely applied.

8.        As soon as a freight car is completely loaded, all valves shall be made tight, the loading connections shall be removed, and all other closures made tight, except that

Corporation Commission – Transportation

heater coil inlet and outlet pipes shall be left open for drainage. The manhole cover shall be re-applied by the use of a bar or wrench, the outlet valve reducer and outlet valve cap replaced by the use of a wrench having a handle at least 36 inches long, and the outlet valve cap plug, end plug, and all other closures of openings and of their pro- tective housings shall be closed by the use of a suitable tool.

9.        Railroad defect cards shall not be removed.

10.     If oil or gasoline has been spilled on the ground around connections, it shall be covered with fresh dry sand or dirt.

11.     All tools and implements used in connection with loading shall be kept free of oil, dirt, and grit.

B.       Placarding shall be as follows:

1.        When lading requiring placarding in compliance with provisions of 49 CFR 172.500(c), as amended and revised through November 1, 1989, incorporated herein by reference, on file with the Office of the Secretary of State, and copies available from the United States Gov- ernment Printing Office, P.O. Box 371975M, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15250-7975, is loaded in a freight car, it shall be the responsibility of the person loading the freight car to affix the prescribed number and type of placards to the freight car.

2.        The freight car shall be equipped with at least 4 metal placard holders which are suitable for service.

3.        Placards affixed to hazardous materials freight cars shall be in a condition so that the format, legibility, color, and visibility are not substantially reduced due to damage, deterioration, or obscurement by dirt or other matter.

C.      The accumulation of static electricity during the loading or unloading of freight cars with flammable liquids or flammable compressed gases shall be prevented by providing a means of grounding the freight car body to a suitable location using a grounding device capable of conducting static electricity away from the freight car and the loading or unloading appliances and appurtenances.

D.      For rail bonds and insulated joints:

1.        Rail shall be adequately bonded at each joint upon which railroad equipment may stand while flammable liquids or flammable gases are being transferred.

2.        Insulated rail joints shall be installed to electrically sepa- rate the loading or unloading track section from all other track rails.

a.         Insulated rail joints shall be applied only to rail hav- ing sawed ends.

b.        Insulated rail joints shall not be applied to rails cov- ered with scale, dirt, or other foreign matter; to rails with battered ends; or when the opening between rail ends is greater than 3/8 of an inch.

3.        An emergency transfer of flammable liquids or flamma- ble gases that must be performed in conjunction with a hazardous material incident shall be exempt from Rail Bonding and Insulated Joint requirements, provided other means, such as ground rods, are utilized to ground the containers and transfer appliances.

E.       A derail shall be used to prevent the intrusion into an area where freight cars are being loaded or unloaded with a hazard- ous material. This device shall be kept in “derailing” position and locked with an effective locking device while freight cars are connected for loading or unloading. The key for the lock used to immobilize the derailing device shall be maintained in the care of the person who is in charge of the freight cars being loaded or unloaded.

F.       Placarded freight cars which contain hazardous materials shall not be left to stand in populated areas for the purpose of con- structive placement where the freight car is not under the direct supervision, observation, or control of the railroad car- rier.

G.      Rail carriers shall be prohibited from allowing freight or freight cars carrying hazardous materials to be constructively placed or otherwise withheld from their destination at other than an Environmental Protection Agency-approved transfer facility. For the purposes of this subsection, “transfer facility” shall mean any transportation-related facility including load- ing docks, parking areas, and other similar areas where ship- ments of hazardous materials are held during the normal course of transportation.

H.      All railroad operations that engage in the unloading of railroad freight cars for the purpose of transporting hazardous materials by rail in and through Arizona shall be governed by 49 CFR 174.67, as amended and revised through October 1, 1989, incorporated herein by reference, on file with the Office of the Secretary of State, and copies available from the United States Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371975M, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15250-7975, all being regulations of the Federal Railroad Administration, United States Department of Trans- portation, Railroad Safety regulations.

Historical Note

Adopted effective May 28, 1992 (Supp. 92-2).