“When rail tankers explode, a blazing ball of gas (called a “bleve”) travels 4 feet above the ground for up to a mile, incinerating everything in its path. Liquid petroleum products escape into nearby waterways and into marshlands and aquifers. Foams used for firefighting wipe out the sensitive organisms on which the surrounding wildlife depends.
A wasteland is left behind. Trees, businesses, power lines, houses, barns, wineries, firehouses, highways, public service buildings – all gone
Just such a danger has been created at the entrance to the Sonoma Valley in California.”
Trump administration revokes oil train safety measure
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Trump administration said it is withdrawing a proposal for freight trains to have at least two crew members, nullifying a safety measure drafted under President Barack Obama in response to explosions of crude oil trains in the U.S. and Canada.
A review of accident data did not support the notion that having one crew member is less safe than multiperson crews, Department of Transportation officials said. The withdrawal also seeks to preempt states from regulating crew sizes.
The 2016 proposal followed oil train derailments including a runaway oil train in 2013 that derailed,
exploded and killed 47 people while destroying much of the town of Lac Megantic, Quebec. Other derailments of trains carrying oil and ethanol have occurred in North Dakota, Oregon, Montana, Illinois, Virginia and elsewhere.
Under Obama, regulators concluded that having two or more crew members would be worth the extra cost even if it prevented a single accident.
The rail industry, which long maintained that crew requirements were unnecessary, cheered the move. But a representative for a rail workers union said it would put the public at greater risk by removing a safeguard against accidents. Most trains currently operate with at least two crew members but without a government regulation there’s no guarantee that would continue indefinitely.
FULL STORY HERE: https://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Trump-administration-revokes-oil-train-safety-13896900.php
Mobilize Sonoma is a group of local volunteers working together on issues that affect the long-term quality of life of the residents and businesses of the southern Sonoma Valley in California.
When rail tankers explode, a blazing ball of gas (called a “bleve”) travels 4 feet above the ground for up to a mile, incinerating everything in its path. Liquid petroleum products escape into nearby waterways and into marshlands and aquifers. Foams used for firefighting wipe out the sensitive organisms on which the surrounding wildlife depends.
A wasteland is left behind. Trees, businesses, power lines, houses, barns, wineries, firehouses, highways, public service buildings – all gone
Just such a danger has been created at the entrance to the Sonoma Valley in California.
160 tanker cars that, when fully loaded, can contain up to 5.4 million gallons of highly toxic and inflammable Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) are now parked in a mile long hazardous-materials storage yard that is operated by Northwest Railroad Inc. in the marshlands south of the intersection of Highway 121 and 8th Street East.
One spark, one derailment, one accidental leak is all it takes for a catastrophe to occur. Haven’t we seen enough in the fires of last October that devastated the region to not let it happen again?
Join with Mobilize Sonoma to get rid of the tankers in Schellville. To make your voice heard, click here.
