GAO says new DOT programs may improve detection of undeclared hazmat

GAO says new DOT programs may improve detection of undeclared hazmat    A congressional watchdog agency said two new U.S. Transportation Department programs may help improve the detection of undeclared hazardous materials.
   “The federal government has no specific program aimed at discovering the amount of undeclared hazmat entering the United States; undeclared hazmat is discovered mainly through inspection and regulatory efforts directed primarily at imported cargo,” the Government Accountability Office said in a report released this week.
   In addition to DOT, the Department of Homeland Security has agencies involved in hazardous cargo oversight.
   “Neither DHS nor DOT could provide data about the amount of undeclared hazmat entering or discovered entering the country, even though their subordinate agencies maintain inspection databases,” the GAO report said.
   The two hazmat detection programs highlighted by the GAO report include DOT’s new authority under the “Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users,” which will allow DOT inspectors to open and inspect cargo without a warrant or shipper’s consent, and continued improvement to DOT’s incident reporting program. About 1,000 undeclared hazmat incidents were reported in 2005, of which 70 involved undeclared shipments entering the country, the GAO reported.
   According to the GAO report, more than 3 billion tons of regulated hazardous materials, such as explosives, poisons, corrosives, flammables, and radioactive substances, are shipped within the United States each year.
   “In the wrong hands, hazardous materials could pose a significant security threat, and it is likely that terrorists who seek to use hazardous materials to harm Americans would move those materials as undeclared shipments,” the GAO report said.