Security rules put a damper on July 4th
By James Aaron Cooke, Executive Editor -- Logistics Management, 6/1/2003
It wouldn't be Independence Day without fireworks. But that American tradition is now threatened by homeland security rules that led the railroads and some motor carriers this spring to refuse to transport pyrotechnics. This self-imposed embargo created a logistics challenge for the fireworks industry, says Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association.
The ban came about because of concerns over an interpretation of a new federal law that regulates the handling and transportation of explosives. Back in February, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms said it had authority over the transportation of explosives under the Safe Explosives Act, passed by Congress last year. Never mind that the U.S. Department of Transportation had regulated hazardous materials transportation for years.
The Safe Explosives Act—one of a rash of recent pieces of federal legislation aimed at shoring up the home front against terrorism—states that manufacturers, distributors, and buyers of explosive material must undergo federal background checks. The law also expanded the list of people who are prohibited from possessing explosives, such as felons and drug addicts, to also include illegal immigrants, anyone with a dishonorable discharge from the military, and individuals who have renounced their U.S. citizenship.
Trucking and rail officials worried that the law could be interpreted as applying to anyone involved in the transportation of explosives, including the fireworks that brighten Fourth of July skies. They also feared prosecution of employees who had not undergone background checks. Indeed, that and other concerns prompted the railroads to refuse all commercial shipments of explosives, including fireworks.
The transportation industry is seeking clarification of this issue from the federal government. Edward R. Hamberger, president of the Association of American Railroads, has written a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft, asking him to clarify the lines of agency authority over explosives shipments as well as the reach of the new law. To date, Ashcroft has not replied.
Faced with a railroad embargo, the fireworks industry found itself in a bind. Forty-foot ocean containers of fireworks arriving from Asia at West Coast ports typically are moved inland via the rails. Importers turned to truck transportation but found problems there, too. "It's difficult finding truck lines that are comfortable moving explosives," Heckman says.
Still, some motor carriers were willing to move fireworks—at a price. "To move containers by truck rather than rail resulted in an increase of $6,000 to $8,000 per 40-foot container load," explains Heckman.
Because the fireworks companies had already sold their wares for this year's holiday, they had to absorb the higher transportation costs. Heckman says many small fireworks companies may go out of business next year because of the increased transportation and logistics costs.
If those bankruptcies bring about fewer July 4th celebrations, that would be a pity but no surprise. Many of the laws enacted in the name of homeland security were rushed into place without considering the ramifications for transportation and logistics. The Safe Explosives Act is a case in point: The lawmakers who wrote that legislation did not think to craft it to exempt motor carriers and railroads hauling fireworks.
The irony here is that laws designed to protect our freedom may prevent us from celebrating our freedom. "It saddens me because the industry was founded on helping the country celebrate its greatness," says Heckman. "The industry supports homeland security, but our products are not used by terrorists."
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