The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has issued a preemption determination that overrules state laws affecting gasoline transportation.

PHMSA has preempted certain New Jersey state common law tort claims regarding the marking, employee training, loading and unloading, and hazardous material classification for gasoline transported by cargo tank motor vehicle. On a petition by Exxon Mobil, PHMSA determined that to mark gasoline containers, cargo tank motor vehicles, and associated shipping papers with warnings regarding the product's benzene content and associated cancer risks are preempted.

Also, employee training and warning requirements under state law about the long-term cancer dangers resulting from benzene, loading and unloading equipment requirements, and product classification rules, are likewise preempted.

PHMSA found that each of these duties, if imposed, would present an obstacle to compliance with the federal regulatory framework essential for the safe transportation of gasoline. In addition, any claims about covered subjects, such as the marking, loading and unloading, and classification of gasoline that are not substantively the same as the applicable HMR provisions are preempted.

The preemption request arose originated from common law tort claims brought against it in a New Jersey state court by a former driver whose duties included driving a cargo tanker and filling it with gasoline at an Exxon facility. The tort claims focus on an assertion that the benzene in gasoline causes an unreasonably high risk of cancer for hazardous materials employees who transport it. The New Jersey state court denied the Defendant's motion for summary judgment, in which Exxon claimed the state common law tort claims are preempted by federal law.