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TABLE 2-2-6 - Hazardous Materials Transportation Incidents: 1995-2007

TABLE 2-2-6 - Hazardous Materials Transportation Incidents: 1995-2007

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  1990 1995 2000 2004 2005 2006 2007
Highway 7,297 12,869 15,063 12,977 13,460 17,151 16,860
Accident related 261 257 329 283 322 305 298
Injuries 311 296 164 156 179 192 155
Fatalities 8 7 16 10 24 6 10
Rail 1,279 1,155 1,058 753 745 704 745
Accident related 48 50 62 46 51 44 52
Injuries 73 71 82 121 693 24 53
Fatalities 0 0 0 3 10 0 0
Air 297 817 1,419 995 1,654 2,411 1,551
Accident related 0 0 3 0 9 7 7
Injuries 39 33 5 12 78 2 8
Fatalities 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Water 7 12 17 15 69 68 61
Accident related 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Injuries 0 0 0 0 0 15 3
Fatalities 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pipeline              
Liquid 180 188 146 144 139 117 114
Injuries 7 11 4 16 2 2 10
Fatalities 3 3 1 5 2 0 4
Natural gas distribution 110 97 154 176 171 141 153
Injuries 52 43 59 41 39 26 36
Fatalities 6 16 22 18 14 16 9
Natural gas transmission 89 64 80 123 181 146 132
Injuries 17 10 18 3 7 5 7
Fatalities 0 2 15 0 0 3 2

NOTES: Accident related excludes human errors, package failures, and unreported cases. Water data are for incidents involving packaged materials only and do not include incidents where the vessel is the container (e.g., a barge or oil tanker). Nonpipeline reporting requirements changed in 2002.

In previous years, carriers were exclusively responsible for reporting hazardous materials release incidents. In 2005, PHMSA expanded the reporting requirement to include the person in physical possession of a hazardous material at the time an incident occurs during transport. Nonrelease incidents involving cargo tanking and undeclared shipments of hazardous materials.

Pipeline data are derived from three unique data sets, and a comprehensive total for pipeline incidents is not applicable.

SOURCES: Highway, Rail, Air and Water: USDOT, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Hazardous Materials Information System Database, available at http://hazmat.dot.gov/pubs/inc/data/2007/2007frm.htm as of August 2008, Pipeline: USDOT, PHMSA, Office of Pipeline Safety, Pipeline Statistics, available at http://ops.dot.gov/stats/stats.htm as of July 2008.