The citizens of Lake County are very
lucky that no one was hurt or killed in the recent
train derailment in Painesville.
According to the EPA the trains contained alcohol based
materials like ethanol and butane. But what about next time?
What if the trains had been carrying chlorine or another
hazardous material? In my opinion we should not be building
houses right next to train tracks. Heisley Park and other
housing development in Lake County are way to close for
comfort. However if there was a derailment involving a
hazardous substance like chlorine everyone could be
affected.Should we be
rerouting hazardous materials on trains? Here are some
resources and articles that will make you think. Please feel
free to leave a comment about your opinion on this matter.
October 15th, 2007, Lake County Live
Hazardous cargo legislation stalled on the tracks
Long before the train derailment just
outside of Painesville, efforts to reroute hazardous loads around
Cleveland have been in the works.
In this twisted metal and a fiery blast furnace are hazardous
materials including ethanol. Six hundred people in a half mile
radius of the train derailment were evacuated. By most accounts
though, it could have been much worse.
"It's pretty horrific and it just shows you how real these problems
are," Cleveland City Councilman Matt Zone said.
City Councilman Matt Zone proposed rerouting trains with hazardous
loads around Cleveland's most densely populated areas last year.
"Most of the cargo that comes through is not for a destination here
in our city limits," Zone said.
With the help of 2000 Census figures and the Cuyahoga County
Planning Commission we took that same half mile radius evacuation
area put into effect in Painesville then centered it over Warren
Road in Lakewood and the intersecting CSX tracks.
If a train went off the tracks here like that in Lake County, more
then eight thousand people would be affected. October 12th,
2007, WKYC.com
Some residents in vicinity of derailment allowed to return home
The decision applies only to residents on Brookstone,
Cobblestone and Forestbrook lanes.
Those residents were ordered out of their homes on Wednesday after a
113-car CSX Railroad train derailed, leading to an ongoing fire.
Concerns arose that cars on fire that carried ethanol and
nonhazardous phthalic anhydride could leak and cause a flare-up
during the National Transportation Safety Board's cause
investigation. October 12th, 2007, NewsHerald.com
Train Derailment Fire Burns Into 2nd Day PAINESVILLE,
Ohio (AP) — Firefighters on Thursday battled a train derailment fire
for a second day and some residents who had been evacuated were
allowed to return to their homes.
When the CSX train derailed Wednesday, homes and businesses within
one-half mile of the site had been evacuated. It wasn't immediately
clear how many people were allowed to return, but the original
evacuation zone had more than 1,000 residents.
"The people closest to the incident are still being kept out," said
Ken Gauntner, Lake County administrator.
Firefighters had spent the night keeping water on a tanker carrying
liquefied petroleum gas.
"Now that we have the light of day, we're going to attack the actual
fire and put it out," Gauntner said.
About 30 cars in the 112-car train derailed, and eight derailed cars
were carrying potentially hazardous materials. Ethanol was carried
on some cars, and one had liquefied petroleum gas, said Garrick
Francis, a spokesman for Jacksonville, Fla.-based CSX Corp.
No injuries were reported. The train was traveling from Collingwood
to Buffalo, N.Y.
October 11th, 2007, AP
Flames, smoke fill air after train jumps tracks

A CSX train derailed near the Lubrizol Corp.
plant in Painesville shortly after noon Wednesday.
Early reports suggested several cars in the train, which was
traveling to New York, ignited when they struck a gas line, but that
cannot be confirmed, Painesville Fire Capt. Ken Takacs said.
"They will not be able to determine (a cause for the derailment)
until the fire is out and they do a rail examination," Painesville
Lt. Denise Mercsak said.
Of the train's 112 cars, 30 railroad cars were blown off the tracks
and 13 ignited. They continued to burn because some of the cars were
carrying ethanol, Painesville Township Fire Chief Frank Whitakker
said. October 11th, 2007, News Herald.com
Der
ailed train: 1,000 to remain evacuated for another night
PAINESVILLE -- Law enforcement authorities in Lake County said
Thursday at a news conference that an evacuation order will remain
in effect for about 1,000 people displaced because of a train
derailment.
The area still under evacuation includes a 300 home development
known as Heisley Park, and three streets: Brookstone, Cobblestone
and Forestbrook. Law enforcement refer to the area as a "hot zone"
and say the evacuation order will likely last through the day and
night Thursday, although they say that is subject to change.
The only road which remains closed is Route 44 north and south
between Route 2 and Route 84.
About 30 cars of a CSX cargo train went off the tracks Wednesday,
causing an explosion and fire. Most of the burning cars contained
ethanol. But safety forces have been keeping a close watch on a
tanker car of propane and another carrying a corrosive, Phthalic
anhydride. October 10th, 2007, AP
Runaway tanker 911 calls
Last month, a runaway railway tanker raced through the heart of Las
Vegas. It was loaded with 90 tons of liquid chlorine, an extremely
dangerous and caustic chemical.
Metro police have released the 911 tapes from people that witnessed
the tanker on its trip through the city. News 3's Jesse Corona
reports.
Operator: Do you need police, fire or medical?
Caller: I'm not sure, I have a runaway train car
You can hear it in their voices, even in a city where you can
witness a lot of strange sights, the image of a railway tanker on
the tracks by itself is hard to believe.
Caller: We just had a tanker come flying by on the
railroad tracks. No locomotive at all, doing about 30-40 miles an
hour heading north on the tracks.
Operator: What are you reporting northbound on the
tracks?
Even 911 operators aren't sure what to make of the calls.
Operator: What type of train was it you said?
Caller: It was a tanker car. What was in the tank I don't
know, but it went by us like a shot.
Union Pacific officials say somehow the tanker, loaded with 90 tons
of liquid chlorine, somehow broke loose from the Arden Train Yard
south of the city near state Route 160. From there, it was a
straight shot downhill into Vegas
Operator: And it was by itself, it didn't have an engine on it
at all?
Caller: Nothing at all, it was all by itself and it was flying
by our plant real fast.
And the calls kept coming in
Caller: This my second time to call in. I want to make sure
you're clear. This is one of those cars that carry acid or some kind
of a chemical.
Operator: Some kind of a liquid or kind of thing?
Caller: Yes.
But it wasn't until Union Pacific police called that people got an
idea of what kind of disaster was narrowly avoided.
Operator: Okay, it's a runaway rail car?
Union Pacific: One car. Runaway. Believe it's loaded with chlorine.
It was rolling pretty good probably 50, 60 miles and hour
Operator: Do you have sight of it?
Union Pacific: No, we lost sight of it but we are attempting to run
it down right now.
The train was stopped by Union Pacific engineers who were able to
board the tanker in North Las Vegas and use the handbrake.
Union Pacific says the incident is still under investigation by the
Federal Railroad Administration but add they have put additional
safety measures into place since the incident to make sure cars
don't get loose during switching.
Mayor Oscar Goodman said it was "outrageous" that tankers loaded
with chemicals like chlorine are able to travel trough the city
without his knowledge. His office says he's still working on
amending an ordinance that would prohibit the transport of dangerous
chemicals through the city without notification. September
2nd, 2007, Review Journal
Runaway tanker could have been disaster
Lucky. That's what hazmat officials are calling
Las Vegas. On Wednesday, a runaway tanker full of liquid chlorine
escaped a railyard south of the city and raced through Las Vegas.
Union Pacific engineers were finally able to get the tanker under
control in North Las Vegas.
You've heard of chlorine being used to clean your pool, but you
might not know that chlorine gas was used by the Germans in World
War I to kill people in trench warfare. It destroys the lungs and
victims end up suffocating to death.
When Mayor Oscar Goodman found out that a tanker full of 90 tons of
liquid chlorine raced through the heart of the city out of control,
he was not pleased. He says he plans on amending the city ordinance
that deals with transporting nuclear waste to cover chlorine.
"Without notifying the authorities that it's coming through, I think
they should not be permitted to come through," Goodman said. "I
think they should have to notify the authorities. They don't have to
have an article in the paper, "Cchlorine Coming Today." That's not
what I'm asking. But to tell to the responsible people that there's
going to be a very dangerous substance going through the community;
I believe it's their obligation."
It's more economical to transport chlorine gas by lowering the
temperature and turning it into liquid chlorine. Wednesday's tanker
was full of 90-tons of liquid chlorine, which hazmat officials say
would fill about 250 railway tankers full of chlorine gas. It could
have been a disaster if that tanker had collided with something and
ruptured during its trip through the city.
The last chlorine spill we had in valley was in 1991. 40 to 70 tons
of chlorine gas escaped from the Pioneer Chlor Alali plant in
Henderson. About 200 people were treated at the hospital for
respiratory problems and thousands of people were evacuated.
September 1st, 2007, Review Journal
EDITORIAL:
Runaway train
Tanker full of chlorine takes
unexpected trip through Las Vegas Last year, UNLV's
Institute for Security Studies completed a vulnerability analysis on
various threats to the state. A number of natural and man-made
disasters were assessed to help policymakers and emergency
responders plan and prioritize training and funding requests.
The worst scenario the institute could come up with? Not a hijacked
jetliner crashing into a Strip resort. And not a breach of a
high-level nuclear waste shipment to the planned Yucca Mountain
repository northwest of Las Vegas.
No, the biggest single threat to the population and economy of
Southern Nevada is a chlorine gas accident. According to the report,
if a railroad tanker carrying 34,500 gallons of chlorine crashed and
spilled near the Union Pacific overpass at Charleston Boulevard in
downtown Las Vegas, the toxic release could kill between 74,000 and
91,000 people under worst-case conditions.
Such a disaster would dwarf the American death toll of the Vietnam
War.
So imagine the fear local authorities felt when they got word
Wednesday morning that a tanker carrying chlorine gas had escaped
the Arden train yard southwest of Las Vegas and was rolling toward
the city, picking up speed.
Las Vegas police units sped to railroad crossings, and a department
helicopter followed the tanker on its path through the valley.
The runaway tanker sped through the new neighborhoods around the
southern Las Vegas Beltway, right past the Strip and over the
Charleston bridge. After traveling about 20 miles at speeds up to 50
mph, the tanker finally slowed on an uphill grade, allowing Union
Pacific maintenance workers to board it and pull the hand brake.
"Las Vegas dodged a bullet there," said Steve Calanog, chief of
emergency response for the federal Environmental Protection Agency's
Southwest region. "Had the train car released its contents in a
residential area, the results could have been tragic."
August 31st, 2007, Review Journal
Runaway chlorine train car rolls unattended through Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Railroad officials
were investigating Wednesday how a runaway chlorine tank car rolled
for 20 miles through Las Vegas before train crews stopped it.
"No one was hurt, there was no damage and there was no leak," Union
Pacific Railroad spokesman Mark Davis said by telephone from Omaha,
Neb., before he and company officials headed to Nevada to
investigate.
Davis said there were no immediate indications of foul play in the
mishap, which was reported just before 9 a.m. Wednesday.
The tanker rolled from a siding in Arden, several miles south of Las
Vegas, to a site near Lamb Boulevard and the 215 Beltway north of
North Las Vegas.
No trains were in the area at the time and no trains were delayed,
Davis said. The freight tracks, parallel to Interstate 15, run
behind Las Vegas Strip resorts, past downtown Las Vegas and through
North Las Vegas.
Witnesses reported a black railroad tanker car rolling alone on the
Union Pacific main line through Las Vegas. Davis said automatic
signals activated to stop vehicle traffic at crossroads, but Las
Vegas police also were notified of what Davis called the
"uncontrolled movement" of the tank car. August 29th, 2007,
Las Vegas Sun

CN Derailment Debriefing A
tanker of 50 thousand gallons of gasoline was venting and igniting
as it was
being released. The fire was a result of a collision between two CN
trains Saturday morning. It is alleged one train
was a “runaway” because it had no brakes. One train side swiped the
other on the tracks directly across the Fraser River from Paddle
Wheel Park and a major populated area of Prince George.
Water bomber drops fire retardant on
blaze during height of CN derailment incident ( photo
courtesy Dominic Maguire) August 5th, 2007, Opinion.com
About 16,000 people examined in Ukraine after toxic train derailment

Authorities have checked 16,000 people for
symptoms of chemical poisoning following a train derailment that
ignited tankers loaded with yellow phosphorous and belched clouds of
toxic gas in western Ukraine, the health minister said Friday.
Doctors examined thousands of emergency
workers and residents in the Lviv region, where the accident
occurred, Yuriy Haydaev said. More than 160 people remained
hospitalized Friday, including 34 children.
Haydaev said not all of those sent to hospitals had serious
symptoms. "We hospitalized all children who feel discomfort in their
eyes or throats, at their parents' insistence, but this does not
mean they were poisoned," he said.
There were no reported deaths.
The accident occurred Monday when a freight train derailed outside
Lviv, near the Polish border, overturning 15 of its 58 cars.
Six tanker cars containing yellow phosphorus caught fire, sending
noxious fumes over 90 square kilometers (35 square miles). About 50
million tons of cargo - 70 percent of which include dangerous
substances like chlorine, nitrogen, ammonia and petroleum products -
are transported by rail through Ukraine annually.
The chemical blaze and health threat sent shock waves through
Ukraine, where many still remember the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power
plant meltdown and explosion. July 20th, 2007, Pravda
Kids at
day-care center accidentally sprayed with railroad herbicide
ABINGDON, Va. — Children at a day-care center were accidentally
sprayed with herbicide Tuesday when a train sprayed herbicide on
weeds along a track near the facility.
Four kids were playing by a fence at Miss Amy's Child Care, when the
train passed by spraying the track. Two children complained of
irritation in their eyes and itching.
All the children were immediately taken to a grassy area away from
the railroad tracks. The four who were sprayed were taken inside,
washed off and their clothes were changed.
Robin Chapman, a Norfolk Southern spokesman said the incident will
be investigated further, but said a wind shift caused the spray to
blow away from the tracks to the day-care center.
NatureChem, the company contracted to spray the herbicide, did not
comment.
Railroad workers washed all the day care centers outdoor toys and
began removing 105 tons of sand from the play area so it can be
replaced. July 20th, 2007, BLET
Train
derailment in Ukraine unleashes toxic cloud
A train derailment in Ukraine
unleashed a toxic cloud that swept over villages and sent at least 20
people to hospitals. The accident rattled Ukrainians
who
remember the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster two decades ago.
The derailment Monday evening
sparked a fire in a cargo of yellow phosphorous and created the toxic
cloud of gas. Officials today said the fire had been extinguished and
the toxic cloud had dispersed.
For more on the train
derailment and toxic cloud,
read this report from Kiev, Ukraine, by Natasha Lisova.
July 7th, 2007 ASAPBlogs
A daily danger -- chemical sites, tanks, rail cars
Think Like a Terrorist: Part 1, 2 p.m. Sunday; Part 2, 2
p.m. July
8, KQED. Part of “Expose” series, produced and written by Joe Rubin,
written and edited by Eli Despres.
"Think Like a Terrorist" is the account of a
crusade by a reporter at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review to prove that
while the flying of an airliner into a building may be a dramatic
way of carrying out a terrorist attack, we need to be aware of more
prosaic points of vulnerability, such as chemical plants, petroleum
refineries and, most of all, tank cars filled with lethal gases such
as anhydrous ammonia, which, we are told, seeks out moisture. That
means that, if released into the air, it would zero in on human
eyeballs and lungs.
Carl Prine, a former Marine, looks like Clark Kent, but if he were
Superman, he would have had an easier time of it crisscrossing the
country and strolling casually into any number of chemical plants
and refineries to prove their vulnerability. Rick Hind of Greenpeace
claims that when it comes to security, American chemical plants are
"porous," and Prine proved it again and again for the first series
he wrote for the Pittsburgh paper.
The reaction to those articles was substantial. Many readers
denounced Prine and his paper for giving the terrorists ideas of
where to strike next. But some legislators, at least, took the
evidence seriously. New Jersey's Jon Corzine, then a U.S. senator
and now the state's governor, offered a bill to tighten security at
U.S. chemical plants, which was lobbied into oblivion by the
American Chemistry Council. July 3rd, 2007, San Fransisco
Chronicle
Squamish residents fear more toxic spills are likely
VANCOUVER -- Almost two years after a caustic soda spill nearly
sterilized the Cheakamus River in southern B.C., there's little
confidence from the community that a similar disaster could be
averted again.
And despite a Transport Canada warning against long trains in the
twisting and steep corridor, the company responsible for the spill
insists that train length is not responsible for derailments.
"CN has no evidence that supports a correlation between the lengths
of trains and derailments," said Kelli Svendson, a spokesperson for
Canadian National Railway Co.
That contradicts a Transportation Safety Board presentation made to
the Railway Safety Act Review Panel that said the board believed
long, heavy trains, or the issue of train marshalling, was a factor
when the tank cars loaded with sodium hydroxide spilled into the
river.July 3rd, 2007, Globeandmail.com
FOCUS: DERAILMENT DISASTER Buffalo engineer set to go on trial
over ’06 derailment 77 mph descent left millions in damages, killed
thousands of fish 
GARDEAU, Pa. — A year ago today, a Norfolk
Southern engineer from Buffalo slowly took a freight train up
Keating Summit, and then raced down into an environmental disaster,
a derailment that caused millions of dollars in damages, killed
thousands of fish, and endangered one of Pennsylvania’s finest trout
streams.
On a descent so steep the track speed limit is only 15 mph, engineer
Michael Seifert’s train never slowed as it cleared the summit,
hitting a top speed of 77 mph on its wild, roller coaster trip to
the bottom.
Seifert, 46, a Norfolk Southern engineer for eight years, failed a
drug test after the derailment. He tested positive for opiate-based
pain killers as well as the class of drug found in Valium.
He was fired by Norfolk Southern and is scheduled to go on criminal
trial in July in Smethport, about 120 miles southeast of Buffalo. He
is charged with two felony counts of causing a catastrophe, and a
misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment.
Thirty-two of the 44 cars in Seifert’s train jumped the tracks
because of excessive speed and operator error, the Federal Railroad
Administration said. The derailed cars included four tankers
carrying sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda or lye, an
ingredient found in drain cleaners.
A nearly $3 million environmental cleanup by Norfolk Southern is
almost complete, and local officials are hopeful the trout streams
here, a large part of the local economy, will not suffer any
permanent damage. The railroad is appealing $8.9 million in
penalties the state assessed.
The environmental damage was caused by 42,000 gallons of sodium
hydroxide that was dumped into Big Fill Hollow and carried
downstream to Sinnemahoning Portage Creek, a Class A trout stream in
its upper reaches that attracts fishermen from throughout the
Northeast.
The sodium hydroxide slowly made its way downstream, killing
everything in its wake.
“Big fish were jumping out of the water, something they do when
they’re distressed,” said Jim Zoschg, a local fisherman and Cameron
County conservation official at the time. “I found dead fish 35
miles downstream.” June 30th, 2007, The Buffalo News
Picacho Peak
rail yard plans merit scrutiny

Union Pacific Railroad's plans to build a
huge switching yard near Picacho Peak, some 45 miles northwest
of Tucson, needs to be examined with a magnifying glass. Serious
questions have been raised about the possibility that the
project may lead to contamination of underground water.
The fears expressed by members of the Legislature,
environmentalists and farmers may be groundless, but there is no way to know
without detailed disclosures from the railroad and a wide distribution of the
information uncovered.
Which is just one of the reasons we urge
Gov. Janet Napolitano to sign HB 2020, a measure introduced by
Rep. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, and overwhelmingly approved in
the legislative session that just ended.
The bill was a response to concerns raised by business interests
and a farmer, Herb Kai, whose family grows cotton and pecans on
1,800 acres of state trust land near Picacho Peak. Union Pacific
has filed an application with the state Land Department asking
that 1,500 of the 1,800 acres be sold at auction.
The department said the railroad needs about 600 acres for its
switching yard and the remaining 900 acres for offices and a
buffer. No decision has been made on whether to sell the land,
but Kai assumes the state will move to do it and, as he put it,
"Nobody can outbid the railroad."
The switching yard would be six miles long and a mile wide,
adjacent to Interstate 10 between Park Link Road and the Dairy
Queen at Picacho. June 28th, 2007, azstarnet.com
S.C. Judge Approves Class Action Personal Injury Settlement In Train
Derailment Case In Which Toxic Fumes
Were Released into the Area
A South Carolina United States District Court Judge recently
approved a class action settlement brought on behalf of hundreds of
victims who were injured when a train derailed in the small town of
Graniteville, South Carolina on January 6, 2005, releasing a
poisonous gas cloud of highly toxic fumes into the air. The
settlement that was recently approved will provide relief to 480
personal injury victims who secured medical attention within three
months of the derailment. Each victim will receive anywhere from
$10,000 up to several hundred thousand dollars, depending upon
various factors including the severity of their injuries, how close
they lived to the derailment or why they were exposed to the gas.
Norfolk Southern Corporation had already settled with the surviors
of the nine people that were killed and others who had to be
evacuated as a result of the wreck but suffered no serious injuries.
Several dozen independent lawsuits that were not part of the class
action personal injury lawsuit have still not been resolved with
Norfolk Southern Corporation. June 26th, 2007
InjuryBoard.com
Settlements for the 2005 Hazardous Chemical Leak in Cincinnati
Thousands of Cincinnati residents are eligible to receive
a settlement check if they were evacuated or harmed by the styrene
leak on the east side in 2005. Styrene, also known as vinyl benzene,
is an organic compound that evaporates easily and has a sweet smell.
The production of styrene in the United States was increased in the
1940's to supply the war with synthetic rubber. It is classified as
a possible human carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA).
In order to collect a settlement check, claimants must prove they
lived in the area at the time of the leak and suffered some sort of
loss because of the leak. As many as 20,000 people are eligible to
apply for a payment, but lawyers on both sides state that many of
the settlement seekers will not qualify.
Resident must prove they suffered a personal injury or loss related
to their property. The standard of proof is higher than last year,
when 1,200 residents who lived closest to the leak shared a $2
million settlement. Most of those residents had been ordered to
evacuate their homes. June 25th, 2007 Personal Injury
Lawyer Blog
Evacuation lifted in J-town derailment; no leakage

Just before 10 cars of a Norfolk Southern train
derailed yesterday in Jeffersontown, Kory Wright heard a strange
noise coming from the rail line, he said.
And then about 2:40 p.m. he saw the freight train leave the tracks,
not far from where he stood at the back of Empire Gas on Ruckriegel
Parkway near Watterson Trail.
“The cars just started falling off the track like Tinker Toys,” said
Wright, 35, a New Albany resident. “Some had skull and crossbones on
them, and another had a flammable sticker on it.”
In the end, no one was injured, and no hazardous material leaked,
but businesses and some residents within a half mile of the scene
were evacuated for about five hours as a precaution. June
23rd, 2007, courier journal.com
Chlorine transport security in the news (again) On
June 14, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) released a safety
bulletin warning that some chlorine railcar transfer systems lack
effective detection and emergency shutdown devices, leaving the
public vulnerable to potential large-scale toxic releases. The Board
formally recommended that the U.S. Department of Transportation
expand its regulatory coverage to require facilities that unload
chlorine railcars to install remotely operated emergency isolation
devices to quickly shut down the flow of chlorine in the event of a
hose rupture or other failure in the unloading equipment.
Coincidentally, the bulletin raises, yet again, security concerns
about transporting chlorine, concerns that are prompting
chlorine-using agencies to consider installing on-site chlorinators
to avoid spills, releases and becoming a terrrorist target.
June 14th, 2007, Salt Sensibility
State study finds higher cancer risk near rail yards
Diesel pollution from Southern California rail
yards can significantly increase cancer risks among people who live
nearby, according to state findings released Wednesday.
The population living near a rail yard in Commerce, for example,
faces a 69 percent greater risk of contracting cancer, which means
about 1.7 cancer cases per 1,000 people instead of one case in
1,000.
By comparison, a rail yard in Mira Loma increases the cancer risk
among neighbors by 7.5 percent. The research did not assess the
effect on the students at Jurupa Valley High School, which is next
to the rail yard. Inland News, May 24th, 2007
Most
lawsuits settled in Minot chemical spill BISMARCK,
N.D. - Law firms in Fargo, N.D., and Minneapolis say they have
settled the majority of court cases arising from a Canadian Pacific
Railroad derailment and chemical spill on the edge of Minot, N.D.,
five years ago.
Attorneys Mike Miller
in Fargo and Gordon Rudd in Minneapolis said Wednesday that their
firms have reached personal-injury settlements for 1,000 clients, as
well as a class-action settlement for people affected by the
derailment who have not filed individual suits. That settlement must
still be approved by a judge. Details of the settlements were not
released.
The early-morning derailment on Jan. 18,
2002, on the west edge of Minot released a cloud of anhydrous
ammonia, a toxic farm fertilizer. One
man died trying to escape, and hundreds of other people were treated
for burns and breathing problems.
The National Transportation Safety Board
ruled that inadequate track maintenance and inspections were to
blame, a finding the railroad disputed. Minneapolis
StarTribune, May 2nd, 2007
Don't play in the yard
Steve Thomas doesn't like his neighbor.
From a tree perch 30 feet off the ground, he can keep close watch
on the next-door property in Hainesport, Burlington County, and snap
photos of activities there.
He plants numbered flags in his yard, marking pieces of trash
that blow from the neighbor's side, and complains to local, state
and federal authorities about health and environmental concerns.
So far to no avail.
His neighbor is a solid-waste transfer station called the
Hainesport Industrial Railroad. It serves as the drop point for
trucks laden with building-demolition debris, which is dumped onto
"tipping" floors there, then loaded onto rail cars and hauled to a
disposal site in Ohio.
Because Thomas' neighbor is technically a federally regulated
short-line railroad - and not a trash-transfer station - it is
exempt from local and state environmental, health and safety
regulations.
His complaints about noise, vibration, dust and pollution
hazardous to his family have gone nowhere, derailed by the
jurisdictional question.
"I've been fighting a losing battle for a long time," Thomas said
as he gazed at a wall of stacked metal trash containers towering
over his property. "My family can't even use the backyard anymore."
That might soon change. Thomas' problem – his backyard train
wreck – and those of other residents living near railroad operations
are now being scrutinized by a federal board that is likely to issue
a decision in about a month.
The Surface Transportation Board's determination could affect
operations at all 12 railroad trash-transfer stations in New Jersey
and scores more across the country. Pennsylvania has no permanent
rail trash stations, though the state monitors rail locations such
as the tracks along the Schuylkill near South Street, where CSX
allows its garbage-laden rail cars to linger. Philly.com,
May 7th, 2007
Searchers find body of missing engineer
The search for a missing CP
Rail engineer ended late yesterday afternoon with the discovery of
his body underneath a derailed locomotive in Trail.
CP spokesman Mark Seland said it appears the engineer stayed with
his train until the end. Two other crew members bailed out before
the train derailed Monday near the Teck Cominco lead-zinc smelter.
Two locomotives and eight cars left the tracks, spilling ammonium
sulphate fertilizer.
A review of data in the train's
equivalent of a black box will show what the engineer tried to do
before his death, Seland said. The long-time CP Rail employee showed
tremendous bravery to stay with the apparently out-of-control train
as it barrelled into Trail from Warfield, Seland said.
It's not clear if the engineer died as he tried to jump or if he
was killed while still inside the locomotive. A coroner will conduct
an examination to determine the exact cause of death.
April
25th, 2007, The Province
Montana Rail Link Use cleaner locomotives in Missoula
Letter to the Editor
It is my great
concern - because we live so very close to the railroad tracks and
Interstate 90 and are living and working in a very high-use area for
activities such as building trains, moving outdated locomotives back
and forth 24/7, fueling and winter idling - that the amount of
diesel fumes (particulate) in our area is a very serious health
hazard, most notably to children. Also a concern is the unrestricted
access to the tracks in front of the Gold Dust Apartments.
Because Montana Rail Link has already taken great steps ahead of EPA
emissions standards by employing the SD70ACe locomotive in areas of
western Montana, I would pray that it would also employ these same
fuel-efficient and cleaner engines in Missoula's rail yard as a
good-faith effort.
Mark Anthony Kersting, April 23rd, 2007,
Missoulian.com
Graniteville Injury claims deadline extended
Graniteville residents with personal injury
claims stemming from the deadly Norfolk Southern Railroad train
derailment and chemical spill will now have more time to decide if
they would like to be excluded from a proposed class action
settlement.
Deadlines surrounding the settlement have
been pushed back, and anyone wishing to opt out of the proposed
settlement now has until May 29 to submit a formal written request
to be excluded from the class. In addition, the deadline to file
objections to the class settlement has also been extended to May 29.
A copy can also be viewed and downloaded online
at
www.nsrcsettlement.com. Aiken Standard, April 18th,
2007
2005 Toxic Train DERAILMENT CN Rail offices searched over Cheakamus
incident
VICTORIA -- Search warrants were executed
yesterday at CN Rail offices in British Columbia and Alberta related
to the 2005 train derailment and the spill of caustic soda into the
Cheakamus River, north of Vancouver.
Environment Canada officers were at CN offices in Edmonton,
Surrey and Prince George with warrants, B.C. Environment Minister
Barry Penner said. B.C. conservation officers were at the Prince
George and Surrey CN offices during the searches, he said.
More than 500,000 adult and young salmon, steelhead, trout,
lamprey and other species were killed after the derailment in
August, 2005, that spilled toxic caustic soda into the river about
45 kilometres north of Vancouver.
"This is in relation to the ongoing investigation pertaining to
the Cheakamus Canyon derailment and spill of 41,000 litres of
caustic soda," Mr. Penner said. Globe and Mail, April 13th,
2007
Richmond plant shifting from chlorine gas The city's
water-treatment plant is near completion of a $12.5 million project
that will eliminate its need for railroad transport of hazardous
chlorine gas.
The two-year project will convert the plant's disinfection processes
from chlorine gas to liquid sodium hypochlorite, a high-powered
bleaching agent that won't pose the threat of a deadly gas plume in
case of an accident or deliberate sabotage.
"The transport and use of this chemical is much safer," said Robert
C. Steidel, deputy director of the Richmond Department of Public
Utilities.
At the same time, the city is preparing to begin a $14.1 million
conversion of its sewage-treatment processes to replace chlorine gas
with ultraviolet disinfection of wastewater.
Richmond's initiatives have drawn applause from a national advocacy
group that wants Congress to eliminate the use of chlorine gas in
utility treatment processes to avoid transporting the hazardous
chemical by rail through heavily populated areas.
"The only way to truly protect communities is to get unnecessary
toxic cargoes off the tracks," states a report released last week by
the Center for American Progress. TimesDispatch.com, April
12th, 2007
Making
Salt: Eleventh Anniversary of the 1996 Montana Rail Link Toxic Train
Derailment ACCERT Editorial
...As almost any chemically injured person who has
had their life derailed by a toxic train will tell you; the very
first thing we lose is control. The loss of economic power often
follows the loss of control, as many of us lose the ability to work,
our medical bills mount while our assets dwindle. Toxic homes push
the most severely injured outside sometimes to live alone in cars,
or worse. It ain't pretty and yet somehow against all odds most of
us -- not all -- but most of us, survive and eventually find some
semblance of stability in our lives.
ACCERT Editorial April 11th, 2007
Missoula, MT committee seeks new disaster warning system

Members from the Missoula
Emergency Planning Committee say it's time Missoula had it's own
Reverse 911 system.
Talks of a possible Missoula Reverse 911 system really came to a
head after a two train derailment within a seven-month-period. One
of those derailments caused ethanol to spill and people were forced
to evacuate their homes, but many neighbors say with an automated
notification system in place they could have evacuated quicker.
Members from the Montana Rail Link (MRL) support a Reverse 911
system and this summer MRL will spend $2 million for maintenance to
ensure that a derailment doesn't happen again. KPAX.com,
April 10th, 2007
Toxic Trains and the Terrorist Threat
How Water Utilities Can Get Chlorine Gas Off the Rails and Out of
American Communities

Each year, thousands of tons of highly toxic
chlorine gas travel by rail in the United States to drinking water
and wastewater treatment facilities and other industries. These
massive railcars traverse some 300,000 miles of freight railways,
passing through almost all major American cities and towns. A
rupture of one of these railcars could release a dense, lethal plume
for miles downwind, potentially killing or injuring thousands of
people.
The Department of Homeland Security and numerous security experts
have repeatedly warned that terrorists could use industrial
chemicals as improvised weapons of mass destruction—and indeed,
terrorists recently attacked and blew up several trucks carrying
chlorine in Iraq. In this respect, railcars of chlorine gas
represent a distinct national security vulnerability. Yet Congress
and the Bush administration have not acted to eliminate unnecessary
uses of chlorine gas railcars even where undeniably affordable and
practical alternatives exist. April 2nd, 2007 Center for
American Progress
Montana Rail Link Reworks Troublesome Railyard in Missoula, MT
Montana Rail Link has replaced some 10,000 feet of rail in the
Missoula area and its directors are making headway on a plan to
communicate with neighbors who live near the tracks, MRL officials
and neighbors said.
The renovations in the rail yard are in response to two train
derailments that occurred along the same curve in the yard in a
seven-month period. In a June incident, ethanol spilled and people
evacuated their homes.
After mending damage
from the wrecks, section laborers tore out old rail along the curve
where the derailments took place. In February, they re-laid about
1,000 feet of rail there, and in February and March they set down
9,000 new feet in the same general area. The work cost some
$150,000, and the rail is high quality, Keller said.
“It's my goal as chief engineer to do the best of my ability to make
sure we never have a track-caused derailment,” he said, though he
said he can't guarantee it.
The company also is developing a plan to alert neighbors when
derailments occur. Several neighbors had met about three times to
talk about how to get an information pipeline going from MRL to area
residents, said Nicole Newman, neighborhood council leader.
MRL's goal is to
develop a written policy to share with neighbors - and some of those
neighbors also are MRL employees, Frost said. The company employs
some 350 people in the Missoula area.
At noon on April 10 in the Missoula County
Courthouse, MRL plans to air some ideas and discuss its plans.
Frost said the number of cars carrying harmful material is
minuscule, and those cars spend little time in town. Last year, 633
cars carried “toxic inhalation hazards,” such as chlorine or
ammonia, through Missoula. March 27th, 2007 Missoulian
CSX Train Violations -- Safety Issue or a Defect?
An audit by the federal government shows CSX
Railroad Company is not doing enough to keep train tracks and the
people who live by them safe.
After eight derailments over three months,
inspectors fanned out to inspect CSX property in locations across 23
states. They uncovered thousands of potential problems including
nearly 200 potential safety violations.
The official CSX position is that a broken rail caused 20 cars to
derail on the Lincoln Street overpass in East Rochester in January.
Immediately following the incident, the federal agency which
oversees railroad safety (FRA) began its own investigation of almost
600 CSX properties across the nation. March 27th, 2007,
13WHAM.com
CSX Train Violations -- Safety Issue or a Defect?
An audit by the federal government shows CSX
Railroad Company is not doing enough to keep train tracks and the
people who live by them safe.
After eight derailments over three months,
inspectors fanned out to inspect CSX property in locations across 23
states. They uncovered thousands of potential problems including
nearly 200 potential safety violations.
The official CSX position is that a broken rail caused 20 cars to
derail on the Lincoln Street overpass in East Rochester in January.
Immediately following the incident, the federal agency which
oversees railroad safety (FRA) began its own investigation of almost
600 CSX properties across the nation. March 27th, 2007,
13WHAM.com
Train blaze: Oneida, NY area evacuated, I-90 closed A
fiery explosion of a freight train carrying liquid propane forced an
evacuation Monday from this small central New York city and shut
down a section of the state Thruway.
The 7 a.m. blast sent a huge fireball into the dawn sky. Thick,
black smoke continued to pour out hours later as about half a dozen
propane tanker cars burned, said Oneida Police Chief David Meeker.
Fire crews were trying to keep the flames from spreading to other
tankers on the derailed 80-car train, about half of which carried
propane.
A 23-mile stretch of the Thruway, which passes within a mile of the
explosion, was closed in both directions as a precaution, said
Patrick Noonan, a spokesman for the Thruway Authority.
Officials were evacuating an area of about a one-mile radius from
the blast, which included most of the downtown area of the city of
10,000. Meeker couldn’t say how many people were evacuated. Up to
4,000 live in the affected area, though the evacuation was mandatory
only for homes closest to the blast. March 12th, 2007,
Democrat and Chronicle
Homes Evacuated after Train Derailment near Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Two workers have been taken to a hospital and 40 homes in
Forrest County have been evacuated following the derailment of a
train carrying hazardous materials.
Authorities say Thursday's derailment happened near Hattiesburg at
U.S. 98 and Ralston Road.
Road blocks have been set up in a one-mile radius around the
accident.
A spokeswoman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, Lea
Stokes, says the workers were assessing the wreck for leaks and
possibly came in contact with a chemical.
Stokes says it appeared that two cars were possibly leaking
hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide. The cars were also carrying
chlorine, another potentially harmful chemical. March 8th,
2007, WBLT.com
What if train wreck happened downtown Hattiesburg?
For Vickie Fokakis and employees and
patrons of the Coney Island Café, incidents involving trains are
nothing new. But she dreads the day a major incident occurs near her
family's downtown restaurant.
"If it happened here, it would be a terrible disaster," Fokakis said
as a short cargo train carrying chemical tankers and freight cars
cruised over the Main Street crossing at approximately 30 to 35 mph.
March 8th, 2007, HattiesburgAmerican.com
Evacuations Ordered After Texas Train Derailment Firefighters
and emergency
crews are evacuating areas along the Henderson and
Smith County lines after a train derailment. A substance is on fire,
and while the large plume of smoke has not been deemed toxic,
inhalation could cause respiratory distress. One official source
told KLTV 7 News that antifreeze was involved, along with possibly
other chemicals.
While the chemicals are on fire, the fire is being extinguished as
the substance enters the Neches River on the far northern reaches of
Lake Palestine. The City of Tyler has decided, as a precaution, to
shut down the Lake Palestine Water Treatment Plant.
The evacuation area is south of Highway 31, west of F.M. 315 in
Chandler eastward to F.M. 2661 in extreme western Smith County.
Residents of that area are told to go to the Harvey Convention
Center in Tyler and await further instructions. March 4th,
2007, Now Public.com
Senator’s railway lobby link may have helped derail loan
The federal government killed a $2.3 billion railway loan after
opponents attacked Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), because he was the
railway's lobbyist before winning election and backing legislation
favoring the loan to his former client. February 28th,
2007, Washington Post
Train
derailment spills hydrochloric acid in B.C. canyon
GOLDEN, B.C. (CP) - Schools were closed and there was an early
possibility this mountain community might have to be evacuated
Wednesday over concerns of an environmental disaster after three
chemical tanker cars left the tracks.
One of the CP Rail (TSX:CP) cars began leaking hydrochloric acid, a
highly corrosive and toxic chemical. Two other cars contained sodium
hydroxide, an alkaline compound used in the manufacture of chemicals
and soaps and in petroleum refining.
The train derailed in the Kicking Horse Pass, about five kilometres
east of Golden. February 28th, 2007
FRA Administrator Denies DM&E Powder River Basin Loan Application
Citing Unacceptable Risk to Federal Taxpayers Federal
Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman today denied a $2.3
billion Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF)
loan application from the Dakota, Minnesota, & Eastern (DM&E)
railroad concluding it posed an unacceptably high risk to federal
taxpayers.
In a decision released today, Boardman found that while the Powder
River Basin project met some of the RRIF program's statutory
requirements, there remained too high a risk concerning the
railroad's ability to repay the loan even with an appropriate
combination of credit risk premiums and collateral.
He said he was concerned by several factors, including the DM&E's
current highly leveraged financial position; the size of the loan
relative to the limited scale of existing DM&E operations; and the
possibility that the railroad may not be able to ship the projected
amounts of coal needed to generate enough revenue to pay back the
loan. February 28th, 2007, Track the Truth
Heat’s on Hunter Hunter is now facing a strike by
2,800 railway conductors and yard workers who are members of the
United Transportation Union (UTU) after they walked off the job on
the weekend and set up picket lines at Walker Yard and other
strategic CN locations.
“The membership has spoken overwhelmingly against working under the
present conditions,” blasted UTU Canada general chairman Rex Beatty.
“We would have preferred to deal in a reasonable manner with
reasonable people. Unfortunately this has not been the case.”
But Harrison’s troubles go beyond a job action that could grind his
Canadian lines to a standstill. CTV chose last weekend to air its
W-Five “Off the Rails” expose of CN’s recent safety record, which
the network described as “disturbing.”
It claimed that the railway had an “astonishing” 103 derailments
across the country in 2005.
“That’s an average of one derailment every three-and-a-half days,”
said the CTV press release.
That’s including the disastrous wreck at Lake Wabamun that CN
lawyers are vigorously defending in court, even though at worst they
will only receive a slap on the wrist fine under the Alberta Tories’
ludicrous environmental laws. February 13th, 2007, Edmonton
Sun.com
Off the Rails

Engineer Gord Rhodes has been a railroader
for more than 30 years. He figures he's made the trip from Williams
Lake to Squamish more than 2,000 times. Like most experienced
railway faithful, he knows what makes a safe train and what doesn't.
"We've done that trip so many times, it's not funny. Up and down the
mountain. Switching and coming home," Rhodes says.
On June 29, 2006, Rhodes and two colleagues -- Tommy Dodd and Don
Faulkner -- took a CN train trip that would change their lives
forever.
"The reality was that we weren't coming out of it. We weren't gonna
live," says Rhodes as he ponders what went wrong with Engine 9606.
"Nobody was saying anything. 'Cause this isn't supposed to happen,"
Rhodes adds.
Suddenly the train Rhodes and his team were on gained incredible
speed and began to careen out of control.
The safe speed limit on this section of track is 15 miles per hour.
Closing in on 50 miles per hour the locomotive is racing along the
steep curve - and then jumped the tracks.
"Well the engine, when it hit the ground....it flicked me off like a
bug. And I went airborne and I tumbled and rolled. I could hear all
this crashing and booming," Rhodes tells W-FIVE.
The locomotive had crashed down the mountainside. Tommy Dodd and Don
Faulkner were dead. Only Rhodes was alive. February 10th,
2007, CTA.ca
Railroad Firms Bringing Aboard Lawmakers' Lobbyist Relatives
The railroad industry is hiring relatives of Capitol Hill
lawmakers and staff members as it faces tighter federal safety
legislation, employing a tactic untouched by the Democrats' new
ethics proposals: lobbying by congressional family members.
February 8th, 2007, Washington Post
Safer Train Tank Car Tech Rolling Down the Line Last
month's fiery freight-train crash near Louisville, Ky., which spewed
toxic smoke across a wide area and shut down a nearby interstate
highway, highlighted the need for improved safety in the pressurized
tank cars that carry millions of pounds of toxic chemicals around
the country each year. Those improvements are
coming—eventually—through a joint industry-government initiative
called the Next-Generation Rail Tank Car Project.
The standard tank car used to transport toxic chemicals today—known
as a “jacketed pressure car” in industry parlance—typically consists
of a 500-psi pressure tank made of TC-128 steel, surrounded by 4 to
8 in. of fiberglass insulation held in place by an outer jacket of
thin 11-gauge steel. With virtually none of the crashworthiness
technology that is common in the automotive and aviation industries,
today’s rail tank car is highly vulnerable to punctures and leaks in
a derailment. February 6th, 2007, Popular Mechanics
Rail neighbors want better communication Montana Rail
Link has not had a stellar year in Missoula.
That's the perspective of some people who live along the town's
railroad tracks, and this week's accident didn't help.
In 2006, MRL trains wrecked four times in Missoula County, according
to the Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety. One of
those times, an inattentive truck driver - not MRL - was at fault
for driving in front of an engine “at the last second.”
The other wrecks were charged to the railroad; altogether, they
resulted in 10 derailed cars.
In June, a five-car derailment at the Missoula switchyard spilled
about 12,000 gallons of ethanol. Nearby residents had to be
evacuated. February 2nd, 2007, Missoulian
Texas
Congressman Testifies on Rail Safety Problems In his
testimony, Rep. Gonzalez highlighted the fact that despite overall
improvements in rail safety, 1,344 accidents occurred in Texas, 94
in Bexar County alone. He noted, “the number of serious train
accidents in my congressional district in or near San Antonio over
the past few years clearly demonstrates the need for improved rail
safety.”
San Antonio was the site of several major accidents from 2004-2006.
In May 2004, a train derailment near Brackenridge High School
resulted in three injuries and a 5,600-gallon diesel fuel spill
along the San Antonio River. One month later, a train collision in
Macdona, caused the rupture of a railcar carrying toxic chlorine
gas, which killed the conductor and two residents living nearby.
Several residents, including emergency responders and the train
engineer were treated for respiratory distress. In November 2004, a
train collided with Crystal Storage Company building on the east
side of San Antonio, resulting in one fatality - a man sitting at
his desk inside the building was crushed to death. Lastly, a 17-car
derailment in October 2006 destroyed two houses that were unoccupied
at the time.
Congressman Gonzalez stated, “the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
needs to implement the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
recommendations and it needs to do so quickly. The City of San
Antonio cannot wait for another fatal accident before they act. They
have the authority to issue the rules and regulations necessary to
make our rail system safe and more importantly they have the power
to hold the rail companies accountable for failing to comply with
safety standards. It does the FRA no good to have this authority if
they do not use it.” January 31st, 2007, Capitol Annex
Press
'Greatest Danger' rides the rails

Kentucky got very, very lucky last week: Two
train wrecks in two days spewed hazardous materials into the air and
water, causing evacuations but few injuries.
Still, experts say, the wrecks should bring more awareness to a
potentially dangerous problem that rolls through most communities in
Kentucky.
People don't realize it, but 30 rail cars a day carry hazardous
materials through the heart of Lexington, said Pat Dugger, head of
the Division of Environmental and Emergency Management for the city.
Toxic inhalants, which include chlorine and ammonia, make up 15
percent of the cargo going through Lexington, according to figures
from two years ago, the last numbers available. January
21st, 2007, Lexington Herald-Leader
Cities seek disclosure of train cargo
Details a mystery on harmful freight Freight trains
pull tankers of deadly chemicals through the Louisville area daily,
but what they're carrying is a mystery to most.
Cafe customers sipping cappuccinos just feet from a busy CSX rail
line along Frankfort Avenue in the Clifton and Crescent Hill
neighborhoods are in the dark. So are the local officials who would
be the first to respond to an accident that could sicken people as
far as 15 miles from the site.
That's because the federal government largely prevents state and
local governments from regulating railroads in order to keep rules
uniform across the country.
Concerns about what trains are carrying through cities became
heightened last week when an 80-car train on its way to Louisville
derailed, exploded and sent toxic smoke from burning cars of methyl
ethyl ketone and cyclohexane billowing into the sky in Bullitt
County.
"Do I worry about the trains? You bet I do," said Lamarr Moore, a
certified public accountant in Anchorage who has one rail line
behind his business and another in front. January 21st,
2007, Courier-Journal
Kentucky Track, equipment get hard look; evacuees wait No
indication of error by crew is found

Federal investigators focused yesterday on
equipment and track conditions as the possible cause of Tuesday's
massive Bullitt County train derailment, while CSX Railroad workers
labored to reopen the line within a few days.
Residents within a mile of the crash site still have no idea when
they may return to their homes, or what they will find once they get
there. January 19th, 2007, Courier Journal
Safer rail tankers pledged On a day when two Kentucky
towns coped with dangerous train derailments, Federal Railroad
Administration officials on Tuesday promised to strengthen tank cars
that carry hazardous materials through neighborhoods across the
United States. Railroad officials said they don't know when the
tougher tank cars might be on the rails or when an estimated 23,000
outdated cars will be retired. January 17th, 2007, The
Press-Enterprise
Kentucky derailment burns on. No time on residents' return, I-65
reopening

Federal, state and local authorities, as well as a representative
of CSX, discussed their plans at a press conference about 8 ½ hours
after a toxic train derailed in Bullitt County.
There was also a report of a release of chemical into a creek near
the accident site just after the derailment, but it is not known at
this time how much or which chemical was released, Smith said.
EPA officials, who arrived at the site about 11:30 a.m., will
continue to monitor the air quality downwind from the site and will
test to see water in the tributaries that lead to the Salt River to
see if they have been affected by the reported chemical release, he
said. January 16th, 2007, Courier Journal
5 Years
Later, Train Derailment Still Resonates Fargo, N.D. A
deadly derailment on the edge of Minot five years ago is still being
fought in the courts.
The Jan. 18, 2002 derailment punctured and shattered tanker cars
carrying about 290,000 gallons of anhydrous ammonia, releasing a
cloud of the toxic farm chemical. One man, John Grabinger, died
trying to escape and hundreds of others were treated for burns and
breathing problems. Lawsuits against the Canadian Pacific Railway
sought damages for more than 1,000 people.
"Five years after the derailment, these people are having to cope
with very serious injuries as well as the economic consequences of
the injuries," said Sarah Herman, a Fargo attorney working on claims
against the railroad.
"Many are without adequate health insurance and suffer more because
they cannot afford the medications they need to cope with the
injuries they suffered from the derailment," Herman said.
January 15th, 2007, wcco.com
Watchdogs question training of rail workers Federal
watchdogs are becoming increasingly concerned about who's training
the trainmen.
In 2003, the Federal Railroad Administration mandated security
training for railroad workers. Throughout the next two years, FRA
inspectors handed out 1,066 warnings to 76 railroads to shore up
hazmat security and safety training. January 15th, 2007,
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Critics call for trains to be rerouted from urban areas
The shortest distance to avoid a terrorist attack isn't a
straight line. That's what an increasing number of cities are
thinking: They won't be targets if they reroute dangerous gases and
explosives around metropolitan areas.
In 2005, a federal judge upheld Washington, D.C.'s ban on
particularly deadly rail shipments on CSX tracks through the
capital. While the ban is being appealed, nearly a dozen other
cities and the state of California are watching to see if
legislation they've drafted can become law, too.
"It's only going to take one attack, just one attack and none of
this will be an issue," said Fred Millar, an architect of the
district's rail rerouting plan who consults for labor unions,
environmental organizations and city governments. "If you want to
avoid a disaster in your city, tell the railroads to reroute the
chemicals around it." January 15th, 2007 Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review
No consensus on rail shipment regulations Last month,
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security proposed new regulations
designed to force railroads to better protect their cargoes of
deadly poisons and explosives.
But critics in Congress and the chemical industry say the measures
don't go far enough to safeguard cities from terrorists.
And a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review probe of rail security across
seven states published Sunday detailed ongoing failures with
voluntary standards agreed to by the railroads and Homeland Security
that already were supposed to guide anti-terrorism standards. A
terrorist easily can reach millions of pounds of the most toxic or
explosive substances on tracks inside America's largest city,
according to the Trib's recent investigation, problems federal
watchdogs agree are far too prevalent.
If adopted, the reforms would require rail workers to inspect
chemical tank cars for bombs. Documented "chain of command" handoffs
would occur when a locomotive drops off hazardous materials with a
customer, cutting the days deadly gases idle on unprotected rail
sidings. January 15th, 2007, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Reporter's interest forged in Iraq Not only was that a
definite "yes" to all of the questions in that experiment, but I was
able to pretty much replicate this thing in Atlanta, Seattle,
Tacoma, numerous sites around the San Fransisco Bay area, Las Vegas
and also at port facilities in Oregon and Washington.
So, we ended up with about 50 places, in seven states, surrounded by
pretty heavily urbanized populations that are open to terrorists.
These rail cars go through major population centers and they carry
potentially catastrophic, highly toxic or explosive chemicals, stuff
like chlorine gas, anhydrous ammonia or fuming sulfuric acid, and
also flammables such as propane or liquid petroleum gas -- what a
first-responder would call LPG.
Firefighters will be the first ones to tell you just how nasty some
of this stuff is. Chlorine was a weapon of mass destruction in World
War I. The gas is is so corrosive it will eat through human teeth.
I think the question we're asking is: Have we prepositioned weapons
of mass destruction in our major cities? January 14th,
2007, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Terror on the Tracks Let's say the Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review reporter really was a terrorist.
What if those were bombs he was placing on the chemical placard of a
rail car inside the Thatcher Chemical Co. plant in suburban Las
Vegas, and not his business cards?
Instead of a camera recording lax security over some of the
deadliest chemicals ever produced, he held a detonator? And the
string of chlorine gas cars trundling down Union Pacific Railroad
tracks in the heart of Vegas was his prey?
If he was a terrorist, and his goal was to release a potentially
catastrophic cloud of deadly gases, explosives and caustic acids --
in unguarded cars, left abandoned -- then a U.S. Department of
Homeland Security's planning scenario might apply: 17,500 people
dead, another 10,000 suffering injuries and 100,000 more flooding
trauma wards, convinced they've been poisoned. The environmental
damage would take weeks to clean up, forcing the evacuation of as
many as 70,000 residents from a city built on sin, military might
and heavy industry. January 14th, 2007, Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review
Despite security defects, FRA hands out few violations
The Trib's roadmap to locate, penetrate and photograph lax security
was provided by the Federal Railroad Administration, a small agency
within the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Trib obtained the
information through a federal Freedom of Information Act request.
From Oct. 3, 2003, to Oct. 6, 2005, almost 400 FRA and affiliated
state inspectors fanned out across 42 states. They wrote 793 reports
detailing 4,997 security defects at rail yards, chemical plants and
warehouses owned by 525 corporations.
To the FRA, a "defect" is like a warning given by a cop to a
speeding motorist. According to the FRA, only one out of every 173
companies nicked with security defects ever receives a "violation"
or enters into a long "enforcement action" process.
"It's kind of like 'prosecutorial discretion.' Filing violations can
be very expensive and time consuming, and our mission is to get
someone to start complying with safety or security regulations as
quickly as possible," said FRA spokesman Warren Flatau. "There are
times when it's necessary to start an enforcement action. But if our
goal is to achieve compliance, then that's not always the best way
for most companies." January 14th, 2007, Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review
Stuck on the Tracks
Officials dream up $150 million solution to longtime nightmare at
Colton Crossing
Each day, more than 100 trains, some more than a mile long, make
their way through Colton Crossing, an intersection of railroad
tracks and switching equipment that is the railroad equivalent of a
four-way stop.
Trains loaded with
televisions, toaster ovens and tennis shoes bound for Chicago,
Houston and New Orleans compete for access with trains hauling
chemicals, lumber and other products destined for use around
Southern California. They roll along on two of the nation's busiest
rail lines, which intersect at Colton Crossing at a 90-degree angle.
Some trains inevitably have to wait, sometimes for hours.
The congested crossing means that trains
transporting goods imported from Asia through the ports of Los
Angeles and Long Beach sometimes travel only about 65 miles before
they come to a screeching halt -- with more than 2,000 miles to go.
January 8th, 2007, Press Enterprise.com