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Is there a better way to screen Hazmat drivers?

As of June, every Hazmat hauler, including new applicants, renewal and transfers, must undergo a fingerprint-based background check. But the Am-erican Trucking Associations (ATA) says that the new system requires “immediate attention.”

ATA officials support the Transport-ation Security Administration’s (TSA’s) goal of screening drivers and preventing a terrorist from obtaining hazardous materials. However, says one trucking executive, “where ATA differs from those at TSA…is that ATA be-lieves the objective can be accomplished through means that do not unnecessarily discourage drivers from hauling hazardous materials by virtue of inconvenient processes and inflated costs.”

The same executive also pointed out that Hazmat endorsement is required to haul such products as paint and nail polish-materials that would not interest terrorists. The executive said TSA’s track record of handling background checks for new Hazmat applicants suggests it will have a hard time handling the estimated 45,000 renewals each month.

Alternately, the ATA proposes that TSA perform name-based driver checks until a national credentialing program is in place. Not only would such a program prevent terrorists from obtaining Hazmat endorsement, the executive says, but it also would allow the trucking industry to reduce costs, minimize driver inconvenience and eliminate redundant background checks.

Some problems already encountered with the current method of background checks include: inconvenient and inadequate testing locations, high costs (TSA contractors charge $94) and varied turnaround times from the time a driver is fingerprinted to the time he receives his notification. The executive says a coordinated, national system is “desperately needed” because “it makes no sense for the same driver to be checked against the same databases multiple times for different background check programs.”