Chemicals, Hazardous Waste Flowing Through Alabama More Frequently
By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News
June 9, 2026
PART ONE
BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. Have you ever stopped for a moment to consider what chemicals cross our path daily by rail, water and interstate highways?
Every minute of every hour, some type of hazardous material is passing through Baldwin County, and the amount continues to rise with the increase of industrial businesses moving into the state, the increased rail, marine and vehicle transportation of hazardous materials including solid and liquid waste and the loads of waste that’s heading someplace to be disposed of.
Truthfully, we don’t know the real amount or destination of these poisons.
The other chemical hazards in our neighborhoods could be right next door to you with the increase of large quantities of pesticides, chemicals used in farming, manufacturing and let’s not forget about the illegal drug labs.
In fact the manufacturing of drugs such as Methamphetamine being made in clandestine labs have been on the rise for more than twenty years.
Synthetic drugs is the latest and greatest drug to hit the streets because it’s easy and pretty cheap to make and can be quickly made in hotel rooms, homes and even in vehicles and they’re easy to sell.
The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office and local police say they are seeing these drugs being possessed and sold more frequently.
Check the daily jail log and you’re bound to see at least a few synthetic drug arrests weekly.
One of the reasons that Alabama sees so much hazardous and dangerous material flowing through our state is the connections that can be made on our North-South corridor (Interstate 65) and our West to East corridor (Interstate 10) which can easily bring any vehicle to a large area of our country.
While there are state and federal regulations such as hazardous markers must be on trucks, rail cars and vessels, but not all companies comply with these laws making things dangerous for people living, working or even driving in the path of these shipments.
In Alabama, the key regulations regarding Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety are primarily governed by the Alabama Hazardous Materials Transportation Act. This act ensures the safe transportation of hazardous materials within the state of Alabama and addresses various aspects related to the handling, labeling, packaging, and transportation of hazardous materials.
- The Act outlines specific training requirements for individuals involved in the transportation of hazardous materials to ensure they have the necessary knowledge and skills to handle such materials safely.
- It also includes provisions for the proper labeling and placarding of vehicles carrying hazardous materials to communicate the potential hazards to emergency responders and the public.
- Additionally, the Act addresses the reporting requirements in the event of a hazardous materials spill or release, including the responsibilities of the parties involved in the transportation process.
Overall, the Alabama Hazardous Materials Transportation Act plays a critical role in ensuring the safe transportation of hazardous materials within the state and protecting the public, the environment, and transportation workers from the potential risks associated with these substances.
But the state admits that they don’t have enough staff to police the amount of hazardous material that flows through Alabama every day.
The US Coast Guard and other federal agencies police everything that’s transported by vessels, frequently boarding the ships and doing inspections but they too can’t be everywhere all of the time and a lot of hazardous materials, including those that can cause serious illnesses and even death make their way across the state without being checked.
And of course, at the Port of Mobile, containers of chemicals, hazardous materials and waste are often offloaded and loaded on trucks from the vessels and vise-versa.
For Alabama, chemicals, poisons, hazardous waste and the unknowns, will continue to increase and flow though our hometowns and the best that we can hope for is that the checks and balances are in place and that our community will stay safe.
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