VEHICLES TRANSPORTING HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

VEHICLES TRANSPORTING HAZARDOUS MATERIALS:

(Counter-terrorism measures): 5.

Dr Teo Ho Pin asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs if he will update the House on counter-terrorism measures taken by the authorities on vehicles transporting hazardous materials on our roads.

The Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs (Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee):

(for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs): Sir, the threat of terrorists using hazardous material (hazmat), such as flammable materials or hazardous chemicals, for terror attacks is real. For example, on 11th April 2002, terrorists drove a truck carrying liquefied natural gas and ignited the cargo in front of a synagogue in the Tunisian island of Djerba, killing 21 and injuring 30 tourists. Currently the use, manufacture, storage and trade of hazmat are regulated by agencies such as the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the National Environment Agency (NEA). Companies and individuals must adhere to safety and security standards stipulated by these agencies. In addition to safeguarding the hazmat while it is in situ , ie, during storage, the protection of hazmat has been extended to its transportation to minimise the possibility of its being used as a moving terrorist weapon.

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A number of measures have been implemented to regulate the transportation of hazmat in Singapore. Let me set these out:

First, hazmat vehicle drivers must pass security screening and a one-day emergency response course conducted by accredited institutes before they are issued with a Hazmat Transport Driver Permit (HTDP) by SCDF.

Second, vehicles must either be licensed by either SCDF or NEA before they can be used to transport flammable materials or hazardous substances respectively.

Third, foreign-registered vehicles transporting hazmat are checked at Tuas Checkpoint before they are allowed entry into Singapore.

Fourth, hazmat drivers are required to adhere to regulated routes and transportation timings.

Fifth, to further minimise the possibility of a terror attack using a hazmat vehicle within the Central Business District (CBD), vehicles that need to travel into the CBD are only allowed to enter through three designated entry points at Anson Road, Lavender Street and Newton Circus where they are checked.

Sir, in addition, the GPS-based Hazmat Transport Vehicle Tracking System (HTVTS) was implemented on 1st July 2005 to track the movement and location of all local and foreign-registered hazmat vehicles transporting bulk quantities of licensable toxic or flammable materials to prevent the possibility of terror attacks using hazmat vehicles as weapons of mass destruction.

These vehicles are monitored on a real-time basis round-the-clock by SCDF's Control Room to ensure that drivers

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comply with the prescribed requirements. Any violation such as deviation from approved routes would trigger an alarm at SCDF's monitoring console. At the same time, the horn and hazard warning lights of the errant vehicle will be activated. When the alarm is activated, the Hazmat Transport Vehicle Tracking System (HTVTS) operators will verify with the company involved to ascertain the nature of the violations, eg, transportation of hazardous cargoes outside of the regulated transportation routes or hours without prior approval from SCDF. If a violation is unable to be verified through the company concerned, the operators will activate SCDF's Enforcement Bikers and Police's Fast Response Cars, if necessary, to intercept the errant vehicle.

Currently, whilst the tracking system can detect an errant hazmat vehicle, it cannot immobilise the vehicle to prevent a determined terrorist from driving it into a target. We now have plans to roll out the progressive installation of immobilisers on these hazmat vehicles that would enable SCDF to remotely activate them to stop the vehicles by shutting down the engine safely. We will implement this plan over a one-year period, starting from April this year.

Dr Teo Ho Pin (Bukit Panjang): Sir, may I ask the Minister whether the present water tank trucks which actually carry potable water for watering plants will be classified under hazmat vehicles because these vehicles can be easily stolen and refuelled with hazardous materials and pose as a security threat?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Currently, about 680 vehicles are licensed and these are vehicles of three metric tons or more, because they carry hazardous materials like chlorine and flammable materials like acetylene or butane. These are the ones that are the target and focus of this regulation, not water-carrying trucks.