WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Homeland Security Department on Thursday recommended keeping warning signs on rail cars that carry hazardous materials despite concerns that such placards could turn those trains into terror targets.
Firefighters and other emergency first-responders vigorously oppose eliminating placards that alert them to take precautions during train derailments and other hazmat situations. The Homeland Security and Transportation departments began weighing the change after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Announcing the decision at a National Fire and Emergency Services dinner, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff acknowledged the risk of ''whether by identifying hazardous material, we are giving people a target, or a bulls-eye.''
But, Chertoff said, ''when you go out and you confront an emergency and a hazard, you have to know what it is you are facing. You have to know if you've got a chemical problem. You've got to know if there's some kind of explosive problem. And you need to have the kind of warning that those placards give you.''
