According to DOT’s Office of Hazardous Materials Safety, an estimated  1.4 million HAZMAT shipments are transported in the United States each  day on average. These shipments amount to more than 3 billion tons of  HAZMAT transported every year. The Handling, Labeling, and Packaging of DOD HAZMAT Shipments Is Governed by a Complex Framework of Statutes and Regulations

		A Complex Framework of Statutes and Regulations Governs DOD’s Handling, Labeling, and Packaging of HAZMAT Shipments

When transporting HAZMAT, there is a complex framework of statutes  and regulations prescribed by multiple civilian and military entities that  must be considered and evaluated to ensure safe, secure, and efficient  transport. The Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, enacted in 1975  and since amended, is the primary statutory regime governing the  transport of HAZMAT in the United States. With regard to DOD, the Defense Transportation  Regulation prescribes how DOD is to transport HAZMAT. DOD Has Experienced Some Challenges in Implementing HAZMAT Policies and Procedures, Which Can Adversely Affect the Safe, Timely, and Cost-Effective Transportation of HAZMAT

According to TRANSCOM officials, in general DOD HAZMAT shipments  arrive at their final destination without incident or delay; however, the  department faces some challenges ensuring the safe, timely, and cost- effective transportation of some HAZMAT shipments. According to DOD  data, for HAZMAT transported by surface and air, improper  documentation and packaging have led to transportation delays. For example, regarding HAZMAT  shipments to be transported by air, Global Air Transportation Execution  System data show that, of the 246,747 total shipments of HAZMAT  received at all five major domestic military aerial ports for fiscal years  2009 through 2013, 67,149 shipments (or 27 percent) were delayed— primarily because they were not in compliance with the Defense  Transportation Regulation requirements for documentation and  packaging. 6). DOD Installations Have Not Secured Sensitive Arms, Ammunition, and Explosives Shipments Delivered by Highway in a Timely Manner

According to reports from the Surface Deployment and Distribution  Command Operations Center’s Defense Transportation Tracking System,  DOD installations did not provide commercial carriers access to a secure  hold area for at least 44 out of 70,891 sensitive arms, ammunition, and  explosives shipments or did not assist carriers in finding alternative  means to secure those shipments in fiscal years 2012 and 2013. Although these instances represent a relatively small percentage of the  overall number of sensitive arms, ammunition, and explosives shipments,  not providing secure hold for even a small percentage of these sensitive  shipments poses a risk to public safety and to national security. DOD uses DOT’s Safety Measurement System scores to determine  whether commercial carriers are eligible for transporting HAZMAT under  the department’s Transportation Protective Services program. Among other things, most carriers lack sufficient  safety performance data to ensure that Federal Motor Carrier Safety  Administration can reliably compare them with other carriers using Safety  Measurement System scores. As a result, DOD may be  determining which carriers should be eligible for the Transportation  Protective Services program using the Compliance, Safety,  Accountability’s Safety Measurement System that, for many carriers,  lacks sufficient information to reliably assess carriers’ safety performance. Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

To examine the statutes, regulations, guidance, policies, and procedures  that govern the Department of Defense’s (DOD) handling, labeling, and  packaging of hazardous material (HAZMAT) shipments to support military  operations, we reviewed the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, as  amended; regulations issued by the Department of Transportation  (DOT), including the Hazardous Materials Regulation in Title 49 of the  Code of Federal Regulations; relevant sections of DOD’s Defense  Transportation Regulation, Joint Staff guidance, including Joint  Publication 4-01, The Defense Transportation System; and international  standards for the transport of HAZMAT.
Why GAO Did This Study

Over 3 billion tons of HAZMAT are transported by commercial carriers in the United States each year. DOD accounted for about 1.6 million HAZMAT shipments in fiscal year 2013, using commercial and military carriers. These shipments can be high risk and highly sensitive and if improperly handled, labeled, or packaged could result in the loss of life, property damage, and harm to national security interests.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 mandates GAO to review DOD's guidance, policies, and procedures regarding HAZMAT shipments. GAO examined the (1) statutes, regulations, guidance, policies, and procedures that govern DOD's handling, labeling, and packaging of HAZMAT shipments to support military operations and (2) extent to which DOD faces any challenges in implementing its policies and procedures for transporting HAZMAT in a safe, timely, and cost-effective manner. GAO examined DOD's and DOT's regulations and related DOD documentation for the transport of HAZMAT and found the 2009-13 data it examined sufficiently reliable for the purposes of the review.

What GAO Found

The handling, labeling, and packaging of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) shipments are governed by a complex framework of statutes and regulations prescribed by multiple civilian and military entities (see figure below). The Hazardous Materials Transportation Act is the primary statutory regime governing the transport of HAZMAT in the United States. To implement the act, the Department of Transportation (DOT) issued the Hazardous Materials Regulations. The Defense Transportation Regulation prescribes how the Department of Defense (DOD) is to transport HAZMAT.
DOD has experienced some challenges in implementing HAZMAT regulations and other guidance, which can adversely affect the safe, timely, and cost-effective transportation of HAZMAT. For example, GAO found the following:
Improper documentation and packaging of HAZMAT led to delays at DOD transportation aerial ports. DOD data show that about 27 percent of HAZMAT received at all five major domestic military aerial ports over the past 5 fiscal years were delayed, primarily due to noncompliant documentation and packaging.
At least 44 times during fiscal years 2012 and 2013, DOD installations did not provide commercial carriers with access to secure hold areas for arms, ammunition, and explosives shipments or assist them in finding alternatives, as required by DOD regulations. Although there were about 70,891 of these types of arms, ammunition, and explosives shipments in fiscal years 2012 and 2013, not providing secure hold for even a small percentage of these sensitive shipments poses a risk to public safety and national security.
DOD may determine which carriers should be eligible to transport its most-sensitive HAZMAT shipments using a safety score that lacks sufficient information to reliably assess safety performance for many carriers. DOD uses DOT's Safety Measurement System scores to determine which carriers are eligible to participate in its Transportation Protective Services program. However, in February 2014 GAO found that scores from many carriers lack sufficient safety performance data to reliably compare them with other commercial carriers' scores.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that DOD improve the documentation and secure hold of HAZMAT shipments and examine limitations on data used to select certain HAZMAT carriers. DOD generally agreed with the recommendations but requested one be directed to a different office. GAO agreed and made the associated change.