Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007 | 7:04 a.m.
Las Vegas officials would like to eliminate a required annual report on the movement and storage of hazardous materials in the city.
By doing so, they argue, they actually can provide better, more timely data to the City Council to monitor hazardous materials.
The move to lessen the reporting requirements for hazardous materials in the city's own back yard could be seen as a double standard, given that it has blasted federal officials for not giving proper notification on low-level waste shipments headed to the Nevada Test Site that skirt the city.
City leaders, though, say the change - still in the early stages of working its way through the council - would be an improvement, not a step backward.
"We want to take the reports and make sure council has the most current information and reacts accordingly," Deputy City Manager Betsy Fretwell said.
Fretwell acknowledged that in the past, periodic reports to the council sometimes replaced the required - but widely ignored - annual account.
Las Vegas Fire Marshal Richard Gracia said because the department lacked the resources to properly track all of the hazardous materials in the city, the information supplied to the council sometimes was not complete. Knowing that, some inside and outside City Hall treated the report as anything but required reading.
While the department accepts reports submitted by transporters and businesses that store hazardous materials and investigates any irregularities, trying to create a uniform inspection schedule would be cost-prohibitive, Gracia said.
Part of the problem may be the broad definition of a hazardous material.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration defines it as any item which has the potential to cause harm to humans, animals or the environment. The U.S. Transportation Department definition covers any item or chemical which, when being transported or moved, is a risk to public safety or the environment.
Based on these broad definitions, Gracia says, almost anything could be considered a hazardous material, making the code requiring an annual report difficult to comply with in its present form.
"Usually there is a reason that these codes are put in, but we can't even find out what the purpose behind this one is," Gracia said.
Dr. David Hassenzahl, chairman of the environmental studies department at UNLV, has an answer.
The annual report, Hassenzahl said, does more than just inform the council. It also sends the message that someone is watching.
"When you have the information exposed to the public view in an annual report it can make the handlers (of hazardous materials) more conscientious," Hassenzahl said. "There is an accountability."
Without regular public oversight, he cautioned that material handlers might be tempted to cut corners, which could lead to a disaster.
He agreed, however, that with proper enforcement and reporting by fire officials, regular as-needed updates could be more effective than an annual report.
Councilman Steve Ross, one of the most vocal opponents of the shipment of hazardous materials through the valley, said he still has some questions about the planned change.
"The important thing is that we get the information in the most timely manner, whatever that is," Ross said. "You know I'm going to look closely at this."
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