Ammonia industry watching election closely

25 August 2008 22:56  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Many in the US ammonia marketplace are focused on regulatory issues during this year’s upcoming federal elections, an industry participant and a lobby group said on Monday.

 

“No matter which political affiliation you’re with, safety of transporting hazardous materials will be a priority, and I know it’s a priority for the shippers,” said Judy Gilles, senior director of transportation for Simplot.

 

Fertilizer transportation has been a hot issue for politicians in the US since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, when a terrorist used ammonium nitrate to destroy a federal building and kill more than a hundred people.

 

The matter has attracted further public concern in the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks nearly seven years ago.

 

As the US presidential election seems to have tightened, both US Senators Barack Obama (Democrat-Illinois) and John McCain (Republican-Arizona) may modify their stances on chemical transportation issues to attempt to gain higher ground on national security issues.

 

In the meantime, railroad groups have attempted to ease requirements mandating the shipment of fertilizers like ammonia, claiming the chemical is so dangerous that liability insurance has become a burden.

 

“Our stance is, the railroads now transport ammonia because they have a Congressional mandate to do so. The railroads would like to get out of the obligation, and we’re adamantly opposed to that on a number of different fronts,” said Kathy Mathers, vice president of public affairs for The Fertilizer Institute.

 

Mathers said railroads must carry fertilizer, or the infrastructure in the US agriculture industry would take a hit.

 

“For them to say, ‘We just don’t want to transport this because it’s too much liability’, it just doesn’t really work for us,” Mathers said.

 

Gilles said she doubted federal regulations would change, regardless of which party wins the upcoming election.

 

“I think the way the regulations go will be the same no matter which party is dominant,” Gilles said.

 

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By: David Rosen
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