Hazardous Material Management challenges with former PHMSA Administrator, Skip Elliott.
Hazardous Material Management challenges with former PHMSA Administrator, Skip Elliott. In this episode Skip Elliott shares with us his journey to becoming the Administrator of PHMSA and the interim Acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation. We had an in-depth discussion about the challenges and gaps of Hazmat Training for Emergency Response professionals supporting the Railroad industry. Class I Railroads have a huge responsibility to train their staff and response personnel whether it’s local Fire Departments and Emergency Management professionals at municipalities and rural communities, or First Responders who assist with the responding to hazmat releases. We discussed the concerns of how to determine if those responding to an emergency have been properly training. In light of the East Palestine train derailment, we identified some of the challenges responders faced and what went wrong. The big question that we rustled with was, should there be an Industry Emergency Response Credential established for professionals who want to obtain proper Rail Industry required Hazmat Response training? You'll hear that and much more in this engaging episode.
Thanks to our Sponsors: E-Tank, TerraTherm, and Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals.
#hazmat #training #emergencyresponse #environment #chemicalmanagement #exposure #emergencyplanning #safety #phmsa #dot
Skip Elliott
President
Skip Elliott has over 40 years of experience leading high-profile and high-risk business operations in private industry and the federal government. He served as the Administrator of the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) from 2017 to 2021, having received unanimous Senate confirmation. In 2020 he was appointed by the President to serve as the acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Prior to his public service, Skip had a distinguished 40-year career at one of the nation’s largest freight railroads, CSX Transportation (NASDAQ: CSX), where he served as vice president of public safety, health, and environment for the last 13 years of his career. In that role, he oversaw an extensive portfolio that included hazardous materials transportation safety, environmental compliance, crisis management, corporate security, infrastructure protection, and occupational health management.
Skip is known for his equity-centered leadership, composure, resiliency, and steadying influence during times of crisis. His skill under pressure, ability to mitigate major disruptions and insight into how to successfully manage their outcomes, has made him an authority and trusted advisor to senior executives and boards of directors on safety, security, and global crisis management issues. He has a proven record in optimizing the balance between ethical, legal, fiscal management, and stakeholder responsibilities and equities in both the private sector and federal government.
