Should Dangerous Cargo Be Routed Around Cities?

While no one was killed in the bridge collapse in Oakland, the episode showed again how vulnerable urban transportation networks are to natural or man-made disasters.

"City officials ought to be planning for far worse possibilities, warns Fred Millar, a homeland security consultant and hazardous materials expert. Release of chlorine, a gas that's still being shipped through major urban areas, could kill tens of thousands, he says. And propane and liquid natural gas explosions could dwarf Sunday's fireball in Oakland."

"Gasoline isn't in the top tier of explosives, flammables, or toxins. But, says Dr. Millar, since it is so ubiquitous and can – as the Oakland incident demonstrated – be quite destructive, cities should not be letting gas trucks go in tunnels, near bridges, or on major commuter highways if it can be helped. Gasoline tankers have been getting bigger over the last 30 years, and their metal skins remain thin for economic reasons, he says."

"Dangerous cargoes, says Millar, ought to be expedited or rerouted around cities using existing beltway highways and tracks. New York City has been forcing hazmat trucks to avoid the metropolis for years after an incident with an LPG truck on the George Washington Bridge. The city won a court case brought by the trucking industry, he says, yet other cities have been slow to implement rerouting policies except at obvious chokepoints like bridges and tunnels."