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“COMMEMORATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BUREAU OF EXPLOSIVES” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1022 on May 11, 2007.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
COMMEMORATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BUREAU OF EXPLOSIVES
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HON. JOHN T. SALAZAR
of colorado
in the house of representatives
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Mr. SALAZAR. Madam Speaker, today I would like to commend the unsung heroes who go unnoticed but who get up every morning and think about how to make our lives safer. They are the men and women who make up the independent agency known as the Bureau of Explosives, headquartered in Pueblo, Colorado at the Transportation Technology Center. This month marks the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Bureau of Explosives.
The Bureau of Explosives (BOE) was formally established in 1907 by the railroad industry to serve as an independent agency to promote the safe transportation of explosives. BOE wrote the very first hazardous materials regulations, which were subsequently adopted and expanded upon by the Interstate Commerce Commission and later the U.S. Department of Transportation.
BOE was originally called the Bureau for the Safe Transportation of Explosives, and was created under the American Railway Association
(ARA), predecessor of the Association of American Railroads (AAR). With a chemical laboratory and 16 inspectors, the Bureau immediately took the lead in inspecting shipments, encouraging improvements in shipping techniques, and developing rules that form the basis of all modern regulations of hazardous shipments. Although the Bureau was granted considerable enforcement powers by the ARA in its constitution, it encouraged compliance through education. This was accomplished primarily by personally visiting shippers and railroad personnel to explain why the rules were necessary for their safety. Annual reports illustrated examples of situations where the rules where not followed. In 1913, explosives manufacturers and shippers and manufacturers of shipping containers were invited to join the Bureau. Shippers quickly began using the Bureau to improve preparation of their shipments to withstand the rigors of transportation.
Today, the BOE is managed by Transportation Technology Center, Inc.
(TTCI), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads. BOE inspectors located throughout North America continue to work with more than 350 member North American railroads, hazardous materials shippers, and container manufacturers and repair companies to ensure safe shipping practices. Congratulations on 100 years of work that has paid off, making the transportation of hazardous shipments by rail today safer than at any other time in our nation's history.
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