WASHINGTON (AP) - Warning that a "major loss of
life" could result from an accident involving the increasing use of trains
to transport large amounts of crude oil, U.S. and Canadian accident
investigators urged their governments Thursday to impose new safety rules.
The unusual joint recommendations by the U.S. National
Transportation Safety Board and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada
include better route planning for trains carrying hazardous materials to avoid
populated and other sensitive areas.
They also recommended stronger efforts to ensure hazardous
cargo is properly classified before shipment, and greater government oversight
to ensure rail carriers that transport oil are capable of responding to
"worst-case discharges of the entire quantity of product carried on a
train."
Last month an oil train derailed and exploded near
Casselton, N.D., creating intense fires. The accident occurred about a mile
outside the town, and no one was hurt. Rail lines run through and alongside the
town.
In July, a runaway oil train derailed and exploded in
Lac-Megantic, Quebec, near the U.S. border. Forty-seven people were incinerated
and 30 buildings destroyed.
The NTSB noted that crude oil shipments by rail have
increased by more than 400 percent since 2005. Some oil trains are more than
100 cars long.
"The NTSB is concerned that major loss of life,
property damage and environmental consequences can occur when large volumes of
crude oil or other flammable liquids are transported on single train involved
in an accident," NTSB said.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx met with oil and
railroad executives last week, pressing them to come up voluntary changes in
the way oil is transported to increase safety. He asked industry officials to
report back to him within 30 days.
Edward Hamberger, president of the railroad association,
reaffirmed the freight rail industry's commitment to moving oil safely by train
in a speech Thursday to energy and financial industry executives.
"We share the secretary's sense of urgency and want to
help instill public confidence in rail's ability to meet the demand for moving
more energy resources in this country," Hamberger said in a summary of his
speed provided by the rail association.
U.S. crude oil production is forecast to reach 8.5 million
barrels per day by the end of 2014 - up from 5 million barrels per day in 2008.
The increase is overwhelmingly due to the fracking boom in North Dakota's
Bakken region.
U.S. freight railroads transported nearly 234,000 carloads
of crude oil in 2012, up from just 9,500 in 2008. Early data suggest that rail
carloads of crude surpassed 400,000 in 2013, according to the Association of
American Railroads.
"The large-scale ship of crude oil by rail simply
didn't exist 10 years ago, and our safety regulations need to catch up with
this new reality," NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said in a statement.
"While this energy boom is good for business, the people and the
environment along rail corridors must be protected from harm."
Freight rail lines across the U.S. frequently run through
densely populated areas, from small towns to large cities. Many of the lines
were laid out in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The NTSB noted that it is still waiting for final action
from government regulators on recommendations made in 2009 regarding improving
the safety of tank cars used to transport oil and other hazardous materials.
\Source: Philly.com
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