1.   SCOTTISH Natural Heritage has called for all ships carrying hazardous cargo to be banned from the Minches and Fair Isle Channel.

2.   Among these are rules governing hazardous cargo, including materials that might cause fires.

3.   But officials at companies that haul hazardous cargo say they are already under pressure to change practices.

4.   Each state issues commercial truck licenses, but drivers have to take a federally approved exam before they can be certified to haul hazardous cargo.

5.   If a small amount of hazardous cargo is approved, what constitutes too much?

6.   In the past, electrical fires and improperly packed hazardous cargoes have caused fumes or smoke on planes in flight, sometimes leading to crashes.

7.   Over the past decade, incidents involving hazardous cargo aboard airplanes have increased nearly seven-fold, federal Department of Transportation records show.

8.   Still, throughout the country Thursday, transportation authorities were pulling over trucks carrying hazardous cargo and checking for permits.

9.   Still, why focus on a few bad drivers hauling trash when many others carry more hazardous cargo?

10.   The Coast Guard worried about safety, checking the integrity of containers and the potentially hazardous cargo they sometimes carry.