Definitions

AAR - Association of American Railroads

BOE - Bureau of Explosives.  The Bureau of Explosives was founded in 1905 by the railroad industry to serve as a self-policing agency to promote the safe transportation of explosives and other hazardous materials.  The BOE wrote the first hazardous materials regulations which were subsequently adopted and expanded upon by the Interstate Commerce Commission and later the U.S. Department of Transportation.  The BOE is managed by the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI).

Cause Codes (NAR) -  Numeric numbers assigned to an incident to better describe the type of failure which cause the NAR.  These codes are more descriptive than the codes published by the DOT.  Cause Codes

Failure Codes (DOT) - Numeric numbers assigned to an incident to better describe the type of failure which cause the NAR.  These codes are listed on page 9 of this instructional booklet. DOT Failure Codes

DOT 5800.1 Form -  Hazardous Materials Incident Report form, required by the Department of Transportation, to report a accidents (i.e. derailments) and incidents (i.e.. non-accident releases) for all modes of transportation. DOT 5800.1 Form (for incidents that have occurred after January 1, 2005) Online version can be found at the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety,  http://hazmat.dot.gov/enforce/forms/ohmforms.htm#summaries

NAR - Is the unintentional release of a hazardous material while in transportation (including loading and unloading) and does not involve an accident

NARRI- Non-Accident Release Risk Index, provides a means to review and study incidents in a multi-dimensional format by evaluating the critical risk elements that can occur in rail transportation releases. NARRI Report Rev. 5

Non-Accident Releases - Consists of leaks, splashes, and other releases from improperly secured or defective valves, fittings, and tank shells, and also includes venting of non-atmospheric gasses from safety relief devices.  (Effective January 1997, normal safety venting of atmospheric gasses such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen is no longer considered a non-accident release.)  The vast majority of the reported non-accident releases involve small quantities.

TTCI - Transportation Technology Center, Inc., located  in Pueblo, CO.  TTCI is a subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads.