Chemical Transportation Incidents – Week of 1-17-26

Reporting Background

See this post for explanation, with the most recent update here (removed from paywall).

Data from PHMSA’s online database of transportation related chemical incidents that have been reported to the agency.

NOTE: PHMSA resumed making their database publicly searchable on February 17^th, 2026.

Incidents Summary

• Number of incidents – 387 (349 highway, 36 air, 1 rail, 1 water)

• Serious incidents – 2 (0 Bulk release, 1 evacuation, 1 injury, 0 death, 0 major artery closed, 3 fire/explosion, 42 no release)

• Largest container involved – 4,378-gcf DOT 112J340W Railcar {Liquefied Petroleum Gas} Undescribed leak.

• Largest amount spilled – 55-gal Plastic Drum {Corrosive Liquids, N.O.S.} Other container fell on plastic drum.

• Total amount reported spilled in all incidents – 676.2-gal

NOTE: Links above are to Form 5800.1 for the described incidents.

Most Interesting Chemical: Heptanes - Clear colorless liquids with a petroleum-like odor. Flash point 25°F. Less dense than water and insoluble in water. Vapors heavier than air. (Source: CameoChemicals.NOAA.gov).

 

Short Takes – 2-20-26 – Federal Register Edition

Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Emergency Management Response System. Federal Register USDA/APHIS 60-day IUCR renewal – Summary: “When a potential foreign animal disease incident is reported, APHIS or State animal health officials dispatch a foreign animal disease veterinary diagnostician to the premises of the reported incident to conduct an investigation. The diagnostician obtains vital epidemiological data by conducting field investigations, including sample collection, and by interviewing the owner or manager of the premises being investigated. These important data, submitted electronically by the diagnostician into EMRS, include such items as the purpose of the diagnostician's visit and suspected disease, type of operation on the premises, the number and type of animals on the premises, the number of sick or dead animals on the premises, the results of physical examinations of affected animals and necropsy examinations, vaccination information on the animals in the herd or flock, biosecurity practices at the site, whether any animals were recently moved out of the herd or flock, whether any new animals were recently introduced into the herd or flock, the number and kinds of test samples taken, and detailed geographic data concerning the premises location.”

Pipeline Safety: Incident Notifications to the National Response Center. Federal Register PHMSA issuance of advisory bulletin. Summary: “PHMSA is issuing this advisory bulletin to remind operators of gas pipelines, underground natural gas storage (UNGS) facilities, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities of their obligation to report incidents in accordance with PHMSA's incident reporting requirements. This advisory bulletin addresses a safety recommendation [link added] that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued to PHMSA in response to a fatal incident that occurred on a gas distribution system in February 2018.”

Notice of Availability of the Final Tiered Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact/Record of Decision for Updates to Airspace Closures for Additional Launch Trajectories and Starship Boca Chica Landings of the SpaceX Starship-Super Heavy Vehicle at the SpaceX Boca Chica Launch Site in Cameron County, Texas. Federal Register FAA notice of availability. Summary: “In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA) and FAA Order 1050.1G, FAA National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures, the FAA is announcing the availability of the Final Tiered Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact/Record of Decision for Updates to Airspace Closures for Additional Launch Trajectories and Starship Boca Chica Landings of the SpaceX Starship-Super Heavy Vehicle at the SpaceX Boca Chica Launch Site in Cameron County, Texas (Final Tiered EA and FONSI/ROD).”

Extension of Postponement of Effectiveness for Certain Provisions of Trichloroethylene (TCE); Regulation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Federal Register EPA extension of postponement of effectiveness. Summary: “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is extending the postponement of the effectiveness of certain regulatory provisions of the final rule entitled “Trichloroethylene (TCE); Regulation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)” for an additional 90 days. Specifically, this postponement applies to the conditions imposed on the uses with TSCA section 6(g) exemptions.”

OMB Declines Generic CDC Traveler Screening ICR Approval

 Yesterday the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had disapproved an information collection request (ICR) from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on “[NCZEID] Traveler Risk Assessment and Management Activities During Disease Outbreaks”. The 60-day ICR notice was published on June 16^th, 2025. The 30-day ICR notice was published on October 2^nd, 2025.

According to the discussion in the 60-day ICR notice:

“Disease outbreaks do not occur at regular intervals, which makes it difficult to estimate how often information collection will be necessary. The purpose of this Generic ICR is to aid in CDC's responsibility to ensure the successful implementation of traveler management in an efficient and timely manner. DGMH intends use this Generic ICR in the event of a disease outbreak that would necessitate the public health assessment and/or monitoring of travelers arriving in the U.S. Although it is possible to anticipate some broad categories of information that would need to be collected, (e.g., potential exposures, symptoms, contact information, etc.), each response is unique and requires flexibility in terms of the specific information collection tool in each instance. Data collection instruments and methods must be rapidly created and implemented to direct appropriate public health action. Often specific questions will change, or new questions will evolve with each disease outbreak.”

In disapproving the proposed generic ICR, OIRA explained:

“Generics are generally voluntary, low-burden (based on a consideration of total burden, total respondents, or burden per respondent), and uncontroversial, thus the collections proposed do not seem appropriate for a generic clearance. CDC is welcome to continue to seek emergency clearance as needed during disease outbreaks.”

I suspect that the disapproval of this ICR is more a response to the problems associated with the management of the COVID epidemic than purely a purely ICR program management decision. While the COVID response should inform a more effective response to the next pandemic, this programmatic response from OIRA rejects that intent.

NASA Releases Starliner CFT Investigation Report

Today NASA announced the release of their report on the 2024 Starliner crewed flight test (CFT) that resulted in the two-person crew remaining on the ISS while the Starliner returned to Earth uncrewed. The two crew members returned much later on a special Crew-Dragon flight. While no one died in this incident, this report will probably end up ranking with the Columbia and Endeavor reports in importance to US manned space flight programs.

The quote about the report that is catching the most attention comes from the announcement today where NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman noted: “Beyond technical issues, it is clear that NASA permitted overarching programmatic objectives of having two providers capable of transporting astronauts to-and-from orbit, influence engineering and operational decisions, especially during and immediately after the mission.”

For more detailed discussions about the report and its importance, see the articles here and here.

Review – 4 Advisories Published – 2-19-26

Today CISA’s NCCIC-ICS published four control system security advisories for products from Welker, Jinan USR IOT Technology, Valmet, and EnOcean Edge.

Advisories

Welker Advisory - This advisory describes a missing authentication for critical function vulnerability in the Welker OdorEyes EcoSystem.

Jinan Advisory - This advisory describes four vulnerabilities in the Jinan USR-W610 Wi-Fi router.

Valmet Advisory - This advisory describes a path traversal vulnerability in the Valmet DNA Engineering Web Tools.

EnOcean Advisory - This advisory describes two vulnerabilities in the EnOcean Smart Server IoT products.

 

For more information on these advisories, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/4-advisories-published-2-19-26 - subscription required.

Review – HR 7338 Introduced – RSAC Codification

Earlier this month Rep Sykes (D,OH) introduced HR 7338, the Railroad Safety and Accountability Act. The bill would codify the establishment and operation of the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) which was established by DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in 1996. It would amend 49 USC by adding a new §20122, Railroad Safety Advisory Committee. The bill would authorize “such funds as would be necessary” from the Highway Trust Fund for the operations of the RSAC.

The RSAC was effectively terminated in August of 2025 as part of the Administration’s efforts to recraft advisory committees to reflect their policy agendas. In January 2026, the FRA announced the reestablishment of the Charter for the RSAC in the Federal Register. There are not yet any members appointed to the ‘new’ RSAC.

Moving Forward

Sykes is a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to which this bill is assigned for consideration. This means that there could be sufficient influence to see this bill considered in Committee. While the provisions of this bill would appear to be relatively uncontroversial, I suspect that there may be some Administration push-back because of a perceived criticism of how they mistreated the previous RSAC. Still, I expect that this bill would receive some level of bipartisan support were it to be considered, but I am not confident that it would be sufficient to allow the bill to be considered by the full House under the suspension of the rules process.

Commentary

Advisory committees like RSAC provide regulatory agencies with an invaluable tool to help them develop workable regulatory schemes to deal with a wide variety of safety and security issues. The varied backgrounds and agendas of the members provide the parent agency with a variety of perspectives that are not available in-house. This helps those agencies avoid unanticipated problems with the publish and comment process of regulatory development.

 

For more information on the provisions of this bill, including additional commentary on Congress utilizing the expertise of advisory committees, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-7338-introduced-rsac-codification - subscription required.

CSB Publishes Volume 4 of Their Incident Reports Series – 2-18-26

Yesterday the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) announced the publication of the fourth volume of their Incident Reports Series. This volume provides 13 investigation summaries of incidents reported since 2020. The investigations were not conducted by the CSB, but rather by the affected companies. Volume 1 (26 incidents) was published in January, 2025, Volume 2 (25 incidents) in March 2025, and Volume 3 (30 incidents) in July 2025.

While these investigation reports are not up to the technical standards of the CSB, they still provide valuable insights into how accidental releases occur in the chemical industry. Readers are going to have to deduce and apply the lessons learned as there are no recommendations from the Board at the end of these reports.

That these companies are willing to publicly share their accident investigation results with the public through the auspices of the CSB positively reflect on the chemical safety investigations and outreach efforts of the Board. The idea that unrelated entities can learn from the mistakes of others in the realm of chemical safety is the largest legacy of this underfunded agency. It is heartening to see that Congress remains willing and able to continue to fund the CSB even in the face of the anti-government agenda of the current administration.

Administrative Note: Volume 4 is not yet listed on the CSB’s Incident Reporting Rule Submission Information and Data page where the other three volumes are reported. I expect that this administrative oversight will be corrected in the near future.