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NTSB SAFETY RECOMMENDATION
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National Transportation Safety Board
July 20, 2006
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Safety Recommendation R06-14 and -15
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The National Transportation Safety Board makes the following
safety recommendations to the Federal Railroad
Administration:
Require railroads to use scientifically based principles
when assigning work schedules for train crewmembers, which
consider factors that impact sleep needs, to reduce the
effects of fatigue. (R-06-14)
Establish requirements that limit train crewmember limbo
time to address fatigue. (R-06-15)
Therefore, the National Transportation Safety Board
reiterates the following safety recommendations to the
Federal Railroad Administration:
R-04-4
Conduct a comprehensive analysis to determine the impact
resistance of the steels in the shells of pressure tank cars
constructed before 1989. At a minimum, the safety analysis
should include the results of dynamic fracture toughness
tests and/or the results of nondestructive testing
techniques that provide information on material ductility
and fracture toughness. The data should come from samples of
steel from the tank shells from original manufacturing or
from a statistically representative sampling of the shells
of the pre-1989 pressure tank car fleet.
R-04-5
Based on the results of the Federal Railroad
Administration's comprehensive analysis to determine the
impact resistance of the steels in the shells of pressure
tank cars constructed before 1989, as addressed in Safety
Recommendation R-04-4, establish a program to rank those
cars according to their risk of catastrophic fracture and
separation and implement measures to eliminate or mitigate
this risk. This ranking should take into consideration
operating temperatures, pressures, and maximum train speeds.
R-04-6
Validate the predictive model the Federal Railroad
Administration is developing to quantify the maximum dynamic
forces acting on railroad tank cars under accident
conditions.
R-04-7
Develop and implement tank car design-specific fracture
toughness standards, such as a minimum average Charpy value,
for steels and other materials of construction for pressure
tank cars used for the transportation of U.S. Department of
Transportation class 2 hazardous materials, including those
in "low-temperature" service. The performance criteria must
apply to the material orientation with the minimum impact
resistance and take into account the entire range of
operating temperatures of the tank car.
R-05-16
Require railroads to implement operating measures, such as
positioning tank cars toward the rear of trains and reducing
speeds through populated areas, to minimize impact forces
from accidents and reduce the vulnerability of tank cars
transporting chlorine, anhydrous ammonia, and other
liquefied gases designated as poisonous by inhalation.
R-05-17
Determine the most effective methods of providing emergency
escape breathing apparatus for all crewmembers on freight
trains carrying hazardous materials that would pose an
inhalation hazard in the event of unintentional release, and
then require railroads to provide these breathing apparatus
to their crewmembers along with appropriate training.
In addition, Safety Recommendations R-04-4 and -7,
previously classified "Open-Unacceptable Response," were
reclassified "Open-Acceptable Response." Safety
Recommendation R-05-16, previously classified "Open-Await
Response," was reclassified "Open-Response Received;" and
Safety Recommendation R-05-17, previously classified "Open-
Await Response," was reclassified "Open-Acceptable
Response."
The Safety Board also issued safety recommendations to the
Union Pacific Railroad, the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Engineers and Trainmen, and the United Transportation Union.
In your response to the recommendations in this letter,
please refer to Safety Recommendations R-06-14 and -15, R-
04-4 through -7, and R-05-16 and -17. If you need additional
information, you may call (202) 314-6177.
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http://www.ntsb.gov/recs/letters/2006/R06_14_15.pdf
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The complete recommendation letter is available on the Web
at the URL indicated above.
The letter is in the Portable Document Format (PDF) and can
be read using the Acrobat Reader 3.0 or later from Adobe
(http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html).
An archive of recommendation letters is available at
http://www.ntsb.gov/recs/letters/letters.htm.
Please note that the electronic version of this letter may
not include enclosures; however, related publications,
accident briefs, and aviation accident synopses are also
available on the web site.
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