Senator Madigan Announces
HazMat Manager Grant Program

Friday, January 18, 2002

State Senator Roger Madigan, Chairman of the Pennsylvania State Senate Transportation Committee, announced today that he has obtained from RegScan, Inc. compliance software for hazardous materials truck shipments, which he will deliver to all 50 states’ hazardous materials inspection teams. These systems are being provided by RegScan, Inc., a regulatory and compliance software development company based in Williamsport, PA, to be distributed to law enforcement personnel nationwide at no charge to Senator Madigan or the state agencies.

The cornerstone of this program is RegScan’s new HazMat Manager expert system software. Under the terms of the program, Senator Madigan will provide each state with a software license to HazMat Manager. Senator Madigan stated, “September 11 has brought to the consciousness of the American public, the risks and hazards that are part of our national transportation system. With the large number of hazardous materials truck shipments each day, we must be prepared for accidental or deliberate disasters involving these shipments. Our emergency response teams and law enforcement officers must be aware of the hazardous materials carried on the trucks in the event of sabotage or accident,” Madigan added. “This program will provide the necessary tools to see that all trucks are placarded properly and that hazardous materials are properly segregated on the trucks.”

RegScan founder, President and CEO, Allen E. Ertel, a former member of congress said, “Our company believes strongly in improving compliance and created both HazMat Manager and this grant program to show that industry can do good by doing good.” Mr. Ertel continued, “RegScan hopes to get the HazMat Manager software into the hands of all commercial vehicle enforcement people nationwide so that they have the tools to ensure compliance with hazardous materials transportation regulation.”

RegScan has taken this unprecedented step to help states improve HazMat transportation enforcement due to the high level of violations that occur, violations that may jeopardize emergency response teams, fire fighters, and the public. Each truck carrying hazardous materials is required, by regulations, to have visible placards on the truck trailer to identify the type of hazardous material that it is carrying as well as to segregate these materials from each other on the trailer. These regulations are complex and voluminous. To illustrate the size and complexity of these regulations, the U.S Department of Transportation issued over 140 pages of revisions in June 2001.

Senator Madigan cited statistics from the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration in 1999 that showed that 49% of all hazardous materials inspections uncovered safety violations on the trucks. “This is totally unacceptable,” Madigan stated. “Our emergency response team people and the public are at risk.”

HazMat Manager (compliance software) reduces public risk by telling government workers, drivers, dockworkers, carriers and shippers whether a load should even be on our highways. The software is easy to use and only takes minutes to learn. In four simple steps, state police troopers and shippers can become HazMat placarding, trailer marking, and segregation experts.

Ned Ertel, RegScan’s Vice President of Business Development said, “Enforcement reaction to HazMat Manager has been extremely positive. Currently 10 states have either adopted or are in the final stages of adopting HazMat Manager for enforcement and training.” Ertel continued, “Enforcement officials in different states have indicated that, in just minutes, HazMat Manager can determine if a violation has occurred. Currently, it can take an inspector almost an hour to search the 2,500 plus hazardous materials covered by the regulations. HazMat Manager’s ability to reduce inspection times will result in more inspections and will increase public safety.”

Senator Madigan stated, “With this program, we hope that all law enforcement offices in the United States will move immediately to implement HazMat Manager in all states’ hazardous materials inspection teams. This will ensure safety for the coming months concerning hazardous materials transportation.”

For more information and a tour of HazMat Manager visit its web site at http://hazmat.regscan.com or contact a RegScan representative at 1-800-734-7226 ext. 1415.