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Yesterday, the Dow Chemical Co. and CHEMTREC® introduced “The Dow Chemical Co. Railcar Shipment Visibility Initiative,” a demonstration project designed to improve rail-car tracking and information sharing between the two parties.

The new system will provide surveillance of highly hazardous material-carrying cars in transit and enhanced communications for emergency responders nationwide.

Under the project, Dow will equip its Toxic Inhalation Hazard (TIH) material car fleet with Global Positioning Systems and sensor technologies to electronically monitor the location and condition of cars and their contents.

CHEMTREC, or Chemical Transportation Emergency Center, will gain access to a newly created Internet network that will supplement the 24-hour emergency call center’s existing communications network to provide TIH incident data to emergency responders. The American Chemistry Council established CHEMTREC 36 years ago to provide immediate emergency response information after accidental chemical releases.

“This collaboration with CHEMTREC is an opportunity to utilize best practices to advance emergency preparedness and response practices to benefit our national security and help protect local communities,” said Henry Ward, Dow’s director of transportation safety and security, in a prepared statement.