Emerging Technologies Applicable to Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety and Security

This report describes near-term (less than 5 years) and longer-term (5-10 years) technologies that are candidates for enhancing the safety and security of hazardous materials transportation for use by shippers, carriers, emergency responders, or government regulatory and enforcement agencies. Using extensive reviews of the literature and interviews with numerous technology providers, the research identifies emerging generic technologies that hold the greatest promise of being introduced during these near- and longer-term spans. It also identifies potential impediments (e.g., technical, economic, legal, and institutional) to, and opportunities for, their development, deployment, and maintenance. The research focused on all modes used to transport hazardous materials (trucking, rail, marine, air, and pipeline) and resulted in the identification of nine most promising emerging technologies.