NORTH AMERICAN RAILROADS HALT EXPLOSIVES SHIPMENTS

NORTH AMERICAN RAILROADS HALT EXPLOSIVES SHIPMENTS    Six major railroads operating in the United States have told customers they have halted transporting explosives in an effort to comply with new federal rules.
   CSX Corp., Union Pacific Railroad, Norfolk Southern Corp., Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway Co. sent notices to their customers last week that they are immediately embargoing the shipment of all explosives, with the exception of U.S. government and military munitions and small arms ammunition and components, according to Tom White, spokesman for the Association of American Railroads.
   The suspension of explosives shipments comes as shippers and carriers try to sort out confusion over how the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will handle its regulatory authority over the transportation of explosives.
   ATF has traditionally regulated the possession of explosives by manufacturers and purchasers. But ATF used recent legislation to re-define the term possession to include those involved in moving the material. As such non-legal residents, felons, drug users, the mentally ill are among several classes of persons prohibited from possessing explosives. The railroads say they have no means of quickly identifying employees who may be prohibited from transporting explosives under the new guidelines and have decided to refrain from shipments for the time being to avoid penalties.
   In the mean time, the Transportation Security Administration is preparing to issue rules to conduct background checks on transportation workers that government officials say could supercede the ATF rules and give regulatory authority back to the Department of Transportation.
   Union Pacific spokesman John Bromley said the company only ships small amounts of fireworks that may be covered by the embargo and    'as a practical matter it didn't have much of an impact' on the railroad.