The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has released a memorandum outlining a new data-driven framework on outreach, inspection, and enforcement practices within its Office of Hazardous Materials Safety. The agency said its inspection priorities target the highest-risk areas in hazardous materials transportation, including:

• General hazardous materials shippers: Routine oversight of shippers helps ensure that the foundational requirements of the HMR are consistently met.
• Cylinder requalification facilities: Proper cylinder maintenance and requalification are essential to preventing catastrophic failures during transportation.
• Cylinder manufacturing (both foreign and domestic entities): Ensuring compliance at the point of manufacture supports the safe distribution and use of cylinders throughout the supply chain.
• Drum manufacturing operations: Quality oversight at manufacturing facilities minimizes risks associated with packaging failures.
• Drum recertification entities: Verifying recertification processes protects the integrity of reused packaging and prevents unsafe containers from re-entering commerce.
• Follow-up inspections of companies with previous major safety violations (recidivism focus): Revisiting high-risk companies reinforces compliance expectations and helps deter repeat violations.
• Shippers of lithium batteries: Increased oversight in this rapidly growing sector helps prevent incidents associated with improperly packaged or declared batteries.
• Undeclared hazardous material shippers operating via e-commerce platforms: Targeting undeclared shipments strengthens our ability to address emerging risks in an evolving marketplace.