Federal safety and security specialists told the National Tank Truck Carriers convention in Las Vegas that the government was moving quickly to require special permits for high-risk hazardous materials, according to news accounts.

Daniel Shelton, cargo-tank program manager for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said soon-to-be-published rules would require companies to obtain special permits to haul such items as high explosives, radioactive material, liquefied natural gas and high-inhalation materials.

“We’re not talking about firecrackers,” Shelton said, adding that the items subject to the permitting requirement were already highlighted by the federal government as Class 1A hazmat loads. He spoke May 12.

Shelton said the rule would require all carriers, regardless of whether they are intrastate, interstate or foreign, to apply to FMCSA for a permit.