The purpose of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Program, first established by statute in 1974, is to identify and manage risks presented by transportation of hazardous materials in commerce. Safety is of paramount importance as the Department of Transportation seeks to involve the public, industry, and other interested parties in determining levels of risk that are acceptable, affordable, and comparable with other risks inherent in modern society.

Today, uniform regulations to manage the risk associated with transportation of hazardous materials are essentially in place worldwide. The Department of Transportation continues to strive to identify and manage potential hazards, the probability of occurrence of incidents in transportation, and the consequences of such incidents.

The DOT Hazardous Materials Risk Management Program encompasses different modes of transportation, a wide assortment of hazardous materials (for example, chemicals, radioactive materials, and infectious substances), manufacturers (hazardous materials and packaging products), shippers, and carriers of all sizes. Information on unintentional releases of hazardous materials and the consequences are collected and analyzed. Identifying low probability, high consequence events (which may not be apparent from incident data) and providing appropriate levels of protection are among the more demanding aspects of our risk management program. A further challenge is to strike a proper balance between levels of safety and costs that result from regulations, special permits, and approvals.