October 28, 2002

Ms. Josephine Scarlett
Office of the Chief Council
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
14th Street and Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20230

Re: DOC NTIA Docket 020816197-2197-01; "Request for Comments on the Hazardous Materials and Dangerous Goods Shipping Papers Exception to the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act

Dear Ms. Scarlett:

The Dangerous Goods Advisory Council (DGAC) is an international non-profit association established to promote safe transportation of dangerous goods (known domestically as hazardous materials) by supporting adoption of sound, effective, and uniform safety standards, and providing extensive training programs. DGAC is comprised of 158 large and medium-sized companies engaged in shipping and transporting dangerous goods, associated businesses, and 21 trade associations representing thousands of air, highway, and rail transporters, chemical producers and distributors, and packaging manufacturers.

For the reasons stated below, DGAC strongly supports the retention of the exception for hazardous materials shipping papers in the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN).

The Department of Transportation's Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) presently require paper copies of shipping papers and emergency response information to accompany each shipment of hazardous materials. This is also an international requirement for shipments by air (ICAO Technical Instructions) and water (IMO IMDG Code). These documents serve as an important part of the hazard communication system both for the carrier and for emergency response personnel in the event of an incident. The shipping paper provides critical information that permits emergency responders to take appropriate action during the initial stages of a hazardous material release. The emergency response information also contains essential guidance on personnel protective equipment needed for responders' personal safety. Most emergency responders do not have access to electronic databases with networking capability that would allow them to retrieve this information in a rapid manner. Therefore, to perform their jobs effectively and safely, emergency responders must have paper copies of the shipping paper available.

There are non-emergency situations where an electronic image of a shipping paper is a more efficient means of storing and transmitting information. As NTIA pointed out in this docket, RSPA recently issued a final rule (67 FR 46123, July 12, 2002) authorizing electronic images of shipping papers to comply with a requirement that a hazardous materials shipping paper be retained for a period of 375 days after the date the hazardous material is accepted by a carrier. We agree that an electronic image is appropriate for this purpose. However, as we stated above, for emergency response, we believe a paper copy must be available.

We appreciate your consideration of our comments and would be happy to discuss them in greater detail.

Sincerely,

Alan I. Roberts
President