DOT launches hazmat info-sharing site

The Transportation Department is making it easier to share information about the shipment of hazardous materials by launching a Web portal that will combine information from various government databases into a single source, said Carl Johnson, administrator of DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.The Hazmat Intelligence Portal (HIP) will help the large number people involved in the transportation of hazardous materials see the big picture when evaluating risks to public safety. The portal seeks to improve the transportation of hazardous materials in the United States, Johnson said Oct. 31. “Information overload will give way to easy and orderly integration of hazmat information,” he added.In 2003, DOT listed as one of its top management challenges the need to strengthen and improve the coordination of efforts to inspect and enforce hazardous materials. In 2006, the department started the Multimodal Hazmat Intelligence Portal project, in which it set out to coordinate data-driven, risk-based analytical techniques and collaboration tools to help manage and reduce the risks posed by transporting hazardous materials in commerce, Johnson said.The site is an Internet-based, hazmat-intelligence fusion center and knowledge management portal that integrates information from more than 25 data sources, he said. It is a partnership of DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; the Coast Guard; and vendors Oracle and Guident Technologies, Johnson said.He said the portal would:• Identify high-risk shippers and carriers.• Help prioritize resources.• Provide dashboard views of integrated information.