Monday, October 27, 2014

Railroad Engineers Warnings Ignored In Inslee's Oil Report



On August 6th the Chairman of the WA State Legislative Board of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, Shahraim C. Allen, sent a letter of concerns to Scott Ferguson, Department of Ecology, lead for Gov. Inslee's Marine and Rail Oil Transportation Study.

None of Chairman Allen's concerns about rail safety are mentioned in the October 1st draft report.


Areas of BLET concern include imminent risk to public health and safety 
due to :



*   the number of inexperienced,  “new hire” railroad employees entering the railroad workforce inadequately trained and/or familiarized with the workplace environment.

*   the proposed use of  Single-Person Train Crews in freight rail operations.

*   both chronic and acute fatigue in  the railroad industry.

*   track maintenance not commensurate with the number of heavy tonnage trains operated on rail lines in Washington State.

*   inadequate regulatory oversight and cumbersome rulemaking by the Federal Railroad Administration.

*   the lack of accountability in all  area of operations management within the railroads.

*   crew fatigue caused by inaccurate train line-ups, and poor or improper crew lodging conditions.

*   inadequate Whistleblower  protections afforded railroad employees.
 
Chairman Allen’s letter runs to eleven pages and is available by request here:  (pending- check back)

Why were these public safety concerns not addressed in the Gov's report??

1 comment:

  1. This document being overlooked by DOE in Governor's safety report was the subject of my public comment. It was absolutely astounding that this voice of concern was not considered in the safety analysis. It makes me wonder just how many other documents of concerns were likewise omitted. More specifically, have they acknowledged the Washington State Physicians for Social Responsibility and their most profound statistics and facts on the healthy and safety affects of both oil proposals, specifically at Grays Harbor, and crude oil in general. Glaring omissions from this group appointed by our Governor to keep us safe and out of harm's way.

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