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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Hazardous Materials Fatalities, Injuries, Accidents, and Property Damage Data

Embedded Dataset Excel:

Dataset Excel:

table_02_06_052124.xlsx (31.06 KB)

Notes:

Hazardous materials transportation incidents required to be reported are defined in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 49 CFR 171.15, 171.16 (Form F 5800.1). Hazardous materials deaths and injuries are caused by the hazardous material in commerce.

Description:

KEY: R = revised. 

The 1996 spike in Air Fatalities was due to the ignition of an undeclared cache of chemical oxygen generators in a flight over Florida that killed 110 people, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation Biennial Report on Hazardous Materials Transportation, 1996-1997. 

b Water category includes only nonbulk marine. Bulk marine hazardous materials incidents are reported to the U.S. Coast Guard and are not included.

c Other category includes freight forwarders and modes not otherwise specified.

d The 1996 spike in Rail Injured Persons is due to a train derailment in Alberton, Montana, which caused 787 minor injuries from chlorine gas inhalation, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation Biennial Report on Hazardous Materials Transportation, 1996-1997. For more information, see http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/PHMSA/DownloadableFiles/Files/96_97biennial.rpt.pdf. 

e The 2005 spike in Rail Injured Persons is due to a chlorine accident by a train operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway Co. in Graniteville, South Carolina, on January 6, 2005. 9 people died and 631 people were injured. For more information, see the PHMSA Incident Report Database at https://hazmatonline.phmsa.dot.gov/IncidentReportsSearch/.

f Property damage under $30,000 is reported to the nearest $100. Property damage $30,000 or greater is reported to the nearest $1,000; therefore the components may not add to the totals. Different cost thresholds for reporting property damage exist by property type. See NTS table 2-8 for the various thresholds.

Source:

1975-85:  U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Special Programs Administration, Office of Hazardous Materials Safety, Hazardous Materials Information System Database, 1999. 

1990-2023: U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Office of Hazardous Material Safety, 10 Year Incident Summary Reports, available at https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat-program-management-data-and-statistics/data-operations/incident-statistics as of May 8, 2024.

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