Transportation & Commodities

Whether the hazmat response you’re facing is an immediate emergency, emerging situation or preparation need, you have too much on your plate to waste time wading through thousands of search results to find the credible information you need.

The Hazmat Fusion Center's mission is to short-cut this for you—to be your one-stop-shop to access hazmat-focused training and resources.

In this section, you’ll find information and tools organized by transportation modes and commodity type.

Interested in materials organized by format? Check out the Training & Resources section.

Transportation Modes

 Rail

The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is responsible for hazmat transported across railroads in the United States. The FRA monitors adherence to codified regulations, conducts direct inspection and enforcement, and collaborates with other transportation modes as many hazardous materials are carried/trans-loaded across multiple modes before delivery.

The Hazmat Fusions Center provides training, resources and updates from U.S. DOT, the IAFC, AAR and others.

 Pipeline

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is the U.S. DOT agency that regulates pipeline and hazmat safety transportation. PHMSA establishes national policy, sets and enforces standards, educates, and conducts research to prevent incidents. The agency also prepares the public and first responders to reduce consequences if an incident does occur.

The IAFC works closely with PHMSA via the ALERT grant. The Hazmat Fusions Center provides training, resources and updates from PHMSA, the IAFC, TransCanada and others.

Highway, Air, Water

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) operates branches that focus on each of these modes:

Learn more about training, resources and updates in these modes of transportation.

DOT's Hazard Classification System

The hazard class of dangerous goods/commodities is indicated either by its class (or division) number or name, for example:

Class 1 - Explosives

Division 1.1 - Explosives which have a mass explosion hazard

First responders in the U.S. are trained to help identify a hazardous material during the first 15 minutes of an incident, based on the U.S. DOT/PHMSA's Emergency Response Guidebook.

Learn More