WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has delayed by a year the deadline to comply with a rule requiring railroads to provide emergency breathing devices in the cab of locomotives on trains carrying hazardous materials that pose an inhalation danger.
In a notice published earlier this month, the FRA said it was delaying the deadline “in response to concerns raised in a joint petition for reconsideration, as well as FRA’s own investigation into the feasibility of these dates.”
The rule was published Jan. 26, 2024 [see “FRA issues final rule …,” Trains.com, Jan. 25, 2024]. The rule required Class I and Class II railroads to comply by March 26, 2025, while Class III railroads had a deadline of Sept. 26, 2025. The regulation grew out of the 2023 Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. At the time it was issued, the FRA cited crew fatalities in 2004 and 2005 resulting from chlorine gas inhalation, with then-FRA administrator Amit Bose saying in a press release, “The safety needs and benefits of EEBAs [Emergency Escape Breathing Apparatuses] have long been established by past tragedies and research, and this rule will provide rail employees with the knowledge and tools to minimize potential dangers.”
But in March 2024, the Association of American Railroads and American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association petitioned the FRA asking that 12 months be added to the compliance dates, citing production limitations for the manufacturers of the breathing devices. In January of this year, the FRA responded with an interim decision saying it would exercise its enforcement discretion for 60 days past the original deadlines to consider its response; it added another 60 days on May 27, 2025.
In the latest notice, the FRA says it is granting the 12 month extension since the original compliance date has passed, and it is not aware of a chance since its January response “that would otherwise alleviate the railroads’ compliance difficulties.” It said the action is not a response to a separate petition from the ASLRRA’s request to reconsider the rule and provide some exceptions for Class II and Class III railroads; a response to that is still forthcoming.
Under the rule, railroads have three options to meet the requirement — providing an apparatus for each employee; keeping apparatus in all locomotives; or providing apparatus at rail yards, where it will be checked in and out by employees when hazardous materials are being hauled. As of the rule’s issuance, the cost of meeting the requirement was estimated at $33.5 million to $107.2 million, depending on the option.
I think this is a little ridiculous… The same SCBA units used by Fire departments, mining and confined spaces safety teams could be provided to any rail crew for use with minimal training and for a cost of less than $2000.00. And that would be for hooded units that anyone with any type of facial hair could wear without restriction. The units they are probably trying to come up with will cost twice as much and do no better of a job. I was on a confined spaces team at two power plants and had to learn how to use the SCBA. It took less than an hour and was easily used. These units are readily available from hundreds of suppliers. WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL? Maybe they are waiting for someone to die from an inhalation hazard while they [insert your word here] around trying to come up with specialty gear that will only be available from one supplier at a much higher cost.
Your tax dollars as work… Definitely a FUBAR…