Affiliated with: AFL-CIO
International Association of Fire Fighters Washington State Labor Council | ||
June 8, 2016
The Honorable Jay Inslee Washington State Governor P.O. Box 40002 Olympia, WA 98504 Dear Governor Inslee: Last Friday's oil train derailment and fire in Mosier, Oregon, is a stark reminder that first responders, rail workers, communities, waterways and pristine lands remain in harm's way from Bakken oil train traffic through our state. The account given by firefighters of the Mosier response and by others who have responded to similar incidents across North America make it clear these fires are exceedingly difficult to extinguish, even under unusually ideal circumstances. What happened in Mosier could have just as easily happened in a population center like Spokane or Seattle, resulting in even greater tragedy. You know our position on these matters. In June 2014, delegates at our statewide convention called for an immediate halt to the movement of Bakken crude by rail until there has been a determination that it is safe to transport. Clearly, given the Mosier incident, there has been no such determination. The upcoming summer fire season is shaping up to be another dry and dangerous one. Resources will be stretched thin, and evidence keeps growing that there is no safe way to transport Bakken crude. A derailment and fire in dry wildfire fuels with high winds could easily overwhelm available personnel and equipment in many parts of our state and grow into a conflagration of immense proportions. We urge you to make a request similar to Oregon Governor Brown's by asking the U.S. Department of Transportation to use its authority to prohibit rail transport of Bakken crude through our state until there has been a full investigation into the cause of the Mosier oil train derailment. In addition, please consider the use of your executive authority to reject plans for oil terminals now under review and ask your legal staff to investigate the proclamation of a state of emergency under RCW 43.06.220(l)(i), allowing you to prohibit the continued rail transportation of this dangerous fuel. We appreciate the efforts you have made to date on this subject and stand ready to meet with you, as do other members of our Solidarity Roundtable on Oil, to work toward solutions to this on-going environmental and community crisis. Sincerely, Dennis Lawson, President. Washington State Council of Fire Fighters opeiu8/aflcio/dag | ||
Dennis J. Lawson, President • Greg B. Markley, Secretary-Treasurer
1069 Adams Street Southeast, Olympia, WA 98501 • 1-800-572-5762 • (360) 943-3030 Fax (360) 943-2333 • E-mail: wscff@wscff.org • Website: www.wscff.org | ||
Showing posts with label explosion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label explosion. Show all posts
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Fire Fighters send letter to Gov. Inslee
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
(Some) Oil Trains Temporarily Halted in Mosier
 |
| Mosier Fire Chief Jim Appleton points to where a Union Pacific train carrying crude oil derailed last Friday, prompting a fire and evacuations from the tiny Columbia River Gorge town about 70 miles east of Portland, on Monday, June 6, 2016, in Mosier, Ore. Union Pacific resumed train service on Sunday but said it would not allow tankers carrying oil on the tracks anytime soon. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)THE ASSOCIATED PRESS |
Anger as trains resume after Oregon derailment, fire
Local politicians and residents of Mosier, Oregon, are reacting with shock and anger Monday as Union Pacific runs its trains through this tiny town again
MOSIER, Ore. (AP) — Local politicians and residents reacted with shock and anger Monday as Union Pacific began running trains through this tiny Columbia River Gorge town just three days after a fiery derailment forced residents to evacuate and water and sewage systems to shut down.
"This is all about money. They're willing to risk us blowing up again for their money to keep coming in," said Loretta Scheler, who rents out a two-story building just a few hundred feet from the tracks. "It's just insane."
"The federal government, the railroad and oil companies need to protect us," said Paul Blackburn, mayor of Hood River, a city about 7 miles west of Mosier.
Hood River passed a resolution in 2014 opposing the transportation of crude oil through the Columbia River Gorge either by rail or by barge.
Union Pacific temporarily halting oil trains in Columbia River Gorge after fiery wreck
By
With damaged tank cars still lying near to the tracks in Mosier, the site of Friday's fiery oil train derailment, Union Pacific said Monday it would temporarily suspend moving oil trains through the Columbia River Gorge.
"We do not intend to run crude oil unit trains and will inform the community of when we intend to resume operations," said Justin Jacobs, a Union Pacific spokesman.
The company's announcement leaves open the possibility that crude oil will continue moving in what are called mixed-manifest trains – those that haul a few tank cars of oil interspersed with other commodities. A "unit train" of oil, the wording the railroad used in describing the shipments it was temporarily halting, carries only crude.Trains began moving anyway, just more than 48 hours after the wreck.
Mosier Mayor Arlene Burns said she was thrilled the governor and Oregon's federal leaders had listened to the city's plea. But she said city leaders believe it's irresponsible for Union Pacific to move any train next to damaged oil tank cars.
Some Mosier residents remain under a level two evacuation order, she said, meaning they need to be ready to leave their homes at a moment's notice. How can the area be safe for train traffic, she asked, if it's not for residents?
"We feel it's still unsafe for trains of any kind to come through the area when these oil bombs are sitting on our front steps," Burns said.
Burns said the damaged tank cars appear to be dripping oil. "A spark from the train could catch that on fire again," she said. "It still is way too soon to be taking trains through."
Our friends at 1267 Watch have put together an impressive list of the links covering the UP Derailment and explosion in Mosier.
1267 Watch Special - Columbia River Gorge derailment:
Reports:
Statements
Actions:
Saturday, June 4, 2016
Mosier really dodged a bullet & Mosier Fire Chief Calls Crude Oil By Rail "Insane"
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| The Route 30 Ice Cream / Coffee Shop had to close on Saturday due to the inability to run water after the nearby oil train derailment the day before. Owner Nelly Demosthenes said she's lost about $2000 in business Friday and Saturday combined. Dave Killen / The Oregonian |
"Mosier really dodged a bullet": Gorge derailment highlights oil train dangers
Eight-hundred feet in either direction, and Friday's oil train derailment outside the small Columbia River Gorge city of Mosier might've sent flaming tank cars into a lake in a National Scenic Area.
A half-mile east, and the inferno would've burned a few feet beneath a block of modular homes. Another mile-and-a-half, and leaking tank cars would've landed on the bank of the Columbia River during peak spring chinook salmon migration.
Seven miles west, and flames would've licked the back of the Full Sail Brewing Co. in Hood River.
Eric de Place, policy director at the Sightline Institute, a progressive Seattle think tank, agreed the region was lucky with the Mosier derailment. But with oil train wrecks continuing to send up sky-high fireballs, there's no reason to expect such a stroke of luck the next time, he said.
"We're playing Russian roulette," de Place said. "I think the industry is perfectly willing to put a gun to our heads and risk our lives for the sake of making money. It is abundantly clear this enterprise is unsafe, unsustainable and they don't know how to manage it."
De Place spoke as he drove Saturday morning through Seattle with his 7-year-old son. He said he was in a "blind rage" about the fiery crash in Mosier. "It's appalling that we're allowing this to continue," he said.
His son interrupted him to point something out, and de Place paused.
They'd just driven past what looked like an oil train.
Mosier Fire Chief Calls Shipping Bakken Crude Oil By Rail "Insane"
Jim Appleton, the fire chief in Mosier, Ore., said in the past, he’s tried to reassure his town that the Union Pacific Railroad has a great safety record and that rail accidents are rare.He’s changed his mind.After a long night working with hazardous material teams and firefighters from across the Northwest to extinguish a fire that started when a train carrying Bakken crude derailed in his town, Appleton no longer believes shipping oil by rail is safe.“I hope that this becomes death knell for this mode of shipping this cargo. I think it’s insane,” he said. “I’ve been very hesitant to take a side up to now, but with this incident, and with all due respect to the wonderful people that I’ve met at Union Pacific, shareholder value doesn’t outweigh the lives and happiness of our community.”
Friends of the Columbia Gorge held a rally today in Mosier
We had a successful rally today in Hood River despite the very, very short notice and high heat, about 100 F. Around 15 people came early to paint signs and about 100 people attended the rally. Media was plentiful for once! Three Portland TV stations and Hood River News covered the event, there were numerous interviews. Those that gave presentations all had messages that were very consistent around stopping all oil by rail in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.
Photos of the rally:
Emily Reed, Mosier City Council President, gave moving remarks. Her son was evacuated from Mosier School and her husband is a volunteer firefighter who worked the fire.
Gett’en it done, cleaning up after the rally
Dan Serres, Columbia Riverkeeper and Peter Cornelison, Friends of the Columbia Gorge
Sunday, November 8, 2015
BNSF Train Derails in Alma, WI, Voluntary Evacuation Lifted, Ethanol Spills in River
UPDATE: Train Derails in Alma, WI, Voluntary Evacuation Lifted, BNSF Working to Clean Up Leaks
Updated: 11/07/2015 11:22 PM KAALtv.com video at site
(KSTP) -- UPDATE: Emergency crews were on the scene of a train derailment in western Wisconsin that closed highways and prompted a voluntary evacuation of nearby residents.
"Truthfully, I've always been concerned something like this might happen," said Patti Stinson of Buffalo City who was taking pictures of the train on Saturday.
A statement from BNSF Railway said 25 cars derailed roughly two miles north of Alma, Wisconsin, at approximately 8:45 a.m. Saturday.
"You assume the worst. You never know when it involves the water either," said Chief Deputy Colin Severson from the Buffalo County Sheriff's Office.
The cars included empty auto racks and tanker cars of denatured alcohol, more commonly known as ethanol, according to the statement.
"They're working on stabilizing the cars and cleaning them up," Severson said.
BNSF said there are no reports of fire, smoke or injuries. Parts of two state highways were closed due to the incident, but were then re-opened in the afternoon.
"In this case everybody responded very quickly," Severson said.
The Buffalo County Sheriff's office said the Alma American Legion was set up for those who left their homes.
Many locals say they had no idea there was potential for a serious threat, therefore staying put, disregarding the voluntary evacuation...... more here
Witness describes Alma train derailment
Five tankers leaked unknown amount of ethanol into Mississippi River
Updated On: Nov 08 2015 News8000.com video at site
No one is injured after a train derailed in Buffalo County Saturday morning.
Just before 9 a.m, the Buffalo County Sheriff's Department said 32
cars fell off the tracks near Highway 35 and County Road I, about 2
miles north of Alma.The Sheriff's Department said five of the cars were carrying ethanol that leaked into the Mississippi River. The leaks have been contained, but officials are not sure how much ethanol entered the water........ more here
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Setting the Record Straight on Oil Trains
A map displayed by Senator Cantwell shows the route traveled by oil trains that enter Washington near Spokane.
Setting the Record Straight on Oil Trains
Confronting the facts about a rickety industry.
Sightline Editor’s note: The Seattle Times recently published a guest opinion regarding oil trains. It contained some unfortunate errors. Sightline Policy Director Eric de Place and Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart penned this response.
On September 13, the Seattle Times published an opinion piece by Richard Berkowitz attacking, among other things, advocacy groups, communities worried about oil trains, and research published by Sightline Institute. Unfortunately, his article dismisses the threats that oil trains pose to Northwest cities—and it fails to confront the facts about a rickety, born-yesterday industry.
Here’s a fact: new projects could induce as many as 100 loaded crude oil trains per week to transit Washington. That number, first published by Sightline Institute, comes directly from adding up the industry’s own figures in publicly available permitting documents.
Here’s another fact: no fewer than 10 oil trains have exploded in North America in the last two years, killing 47 people in one instance. That’s why some have taken to calling them “bomb trains.”
Newcomers to our rail system, these oil trains play no part in moving the cargo that makes the Northwest economy tick. Far from boosting commerce, oil trains threaten to derail it. Consider the case of Cold Train, a Quincy, Washington company that, until recently, shipped refrigerated fruits and vegetables. The company went bust after its goods were crowded off the rails by coal and oil trains.
The owners of the now-defunct company are suing BNSF, but it’s already too late for the workers who lost their jobs.
“New projects could induce as many as 100 loaded crude oil trains per week to transit Washington.”Terry Whiteside, who represents the Wheat and Barley Commissions for many western states, says that “the huge increase in Bakken oil movements and doubling of coal movements have contributed to the worst service meltdown in two decades affecting all commodity movements in the northern tier.” A Cargill executive said much the same thing to the Seattle Times in a 2014 story headlined, clearly enough, “Oil trains crowd out grain shipments to NW ports.”
Coal and oil trains are a problem not only for farmers; they are also a nightmare for on-street traffic congestion. If new oil and coal terminal plans come to fruition, they could create enough train traffic to shut down street crossings in eastern Washington by an average of two to four hours every day. In Seattle, those delays are likely to be shorter—perhaps averaging two hours a day—but they will impact at least eight major streets, including arterials in Sodo critical for freight movement.
Again, Sightline arrived at these figures simply by adding up what the project backers themselves say in their permit applications and factoring in estimated train speeds. Moreover, these vehicle delay findings have been corroborated by two independent traffic consulting firms, Parametrix and Gibson.
Yet worsening traffic is hardly oil trains’ worst insult: they can, and do, kill.
The first one seemed like a freak accident. An oil train derailed and exploded in a Quebec village, incinerating 47 people. But then it kept happening: train after train loaded with crude oil wobbled off the rails and blew up, their towering infernos now well documented across the internet.
Seattle, Spokane, and many other Northwest cities are directly in harm’s way. Seattle Assistant Fire Chief A.D. Vickery says, “There’s no department in the world that could deal with a scenario like Quebec or the most recent one in West Virginia. We simply don’t have the economic resources to add additional firefighters, specialized apparatus, and a number of things that would be required to deal with a significant incident.” It’s a sentiment echoed by fire chiefs around the region.
Berkowitz makes light of the risks of oil trains, but in truth they well illustrate the stakes now facing the Northwest. In just the last few years, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia have seen serious proposals for two new oil pipelines, 10 new or expanded coal export terminals, 14 oil-by-rail facilities, and at least six new natural gas pipelines. If we permit them, these proposals will reshape the economy of our state, from Spokane to Whatcom County—clogging our rail lines, worsening our traffic congestion, and physically endangering our communities. These are weighty decisions that require careful scrutiny—not the plainly false and misleading rhetoric that Berkowitz offers.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
DOE Disinformation and Delay Enable Bomb Trains
Watch DeSmog’s Justin Mikulka Interviewed on ‘Ring of Fire’ About Risky Crude Oil Trains
By Brendan DeMelle • Sunday, October 4, 2015 DeSmogBlog
Following up on several recent articles and a video explaining how the risks of Bakken oil “bomb trains” will continue to endanger communities across North America for years to come despite new regulations, DeSmog contributor Justin Mikulka recently appeared on Ring of Fire on Free Speech TV.
In a conversation with host Farron Cousins (a DeSmog contributor since 2011), Mikulka cites the recent revelations of ExxonMobil’s extensive and accurate climate research — followed by decades of attacking that same science — as evidence of the oil industry’s willingness to deny science in the pursuit of profit.
The discussion focuses on how the exact same thing is happening with the rail shipment of volatile crude oil, and how the oil industry has found a willing partner to challenge the science of crude oil in the Department of Energy.
Watch the Ring of Fire segment:
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Hazardous materials on trains: little known, safety prep spotty
Lynchburg Train Derailment
Large U.S. Cities Prep for Oil Train Disaster
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM and GEOFF MULVIHILL | September 4, 2015 Claims Journal
They rumble past schools, homes and businesses in dozens of cities
around the country – 100-car trains loaded with crude oil from the Upper
Midwest.
While railroads have long carried hazardous materials through congested urban areas, cities are now scrambling to formulate emergency plans and to train firefighters amid the latest safety threat: a fiftyfold increase in crude shipments that critics say has put millions of people living or working near the tracks at heightened risk of derailment, fire and explosion.....
.... The AP surveyed emergency management departments in Chicago; Philadelphia; Seattle; Cleveland; Minneapolis; Milwaukee; Pittsburgh; New Orleans; Sacramento, California; Newark, New Jersey; and Buffalo, New York. The responses show emergency planning remains a work in progress even as crude has become one of the nation’s most common hazardous materials transported by rail. Railroads carried some 500,000 carloads last year, up from 9,500 in 2008.
“There could be a huge loss of life if we have a derailment, spill and fire next to a heavily populated area or event,” said Wayne Senter, executive director of the Washington state association of fire chiefs. “That’s what keeps us up at night.”.... more here
Usually, these materials travel without incident, but when they do not — when an accidental spill occurs — the impact can be deadly, destructive and expensive.
Crude oil trains are derailing and leaking hazardous material in dramatically increasing numbers across the United States, rising from just a single serious incident in 2005 to 47 last year....
..... “It’s actually shocking what comes through the county every day on trains,” said Jeff Galloway, director of the Butler County Emergency Management Agency. “We have every chemical: hydrogen fluoride or chlorine or propane or methane, you name it. In 2012 there were over 23,000 rail cars of hazardous materials and products that flowed through Butler County.”...
... The 5,320 serious hazardous materials incidents since 2005 are a subset of the more than 157,000 hazardous materials incidents reported by carriers to USDOT and analyzed by this newspaper. Serious incidents are defined by the USDOT as hazardous material releases that: cause deaths or major injuries, the evacuation of 25 or more persons, closure of a major roadway, contain certain radioactive materials or severe marine pollutants, alter aircraft operations or contain more than 119 gallons or 882 pounds of a hazardous material....
.... U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and a spokeswoman for U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., all said more must be done at the federal level to improve the safety in the transport of hazardous materials..... more here
While railroads have long carried hazardous materials through congested urban areas, cities are now scrambling to formulate emergency plans and to train firefighters amid the latest safety threat: a fiftyfold increase in crude shipments that critics say has put millions of people living or working near the tracks at heightened risk of derailment, fire and explosion.....
.... The AP surveyed emergency management departments in Chicago; Philadelphia; Seattle; Cleveland; Minneapolis; Milwaukee; Pittsburgh; New Orleans; Sacramento, California; Newark, New Jersey; and Buffalo, New York. The responses show emergency planning remains a work in progress even as crude has become one of the nation’s most common hazardous materials transported by rail. Railroads carried some 500,000 carloads last year, up from 9,500 in 2008.
“There could be a huge loss of life if we have a derailment, spill and fire next to a heavily populated area or event,” said Wayne Senter, executive director of the Washington state association of fire chiefs. “That’s what keeps us up at night.”.... more here
Bill aims to upgrade safety for materials sent by rail
Nick Blizzard | The Dayton Daily News Sept 4, 2015
MIAMISBURG — Chemical toxins such as chlorine gas, radioactive material or explosive crude oil hauled in puncture-prone train cars pass through the region virtually every day, yet authorities — including first-responders — are given little information about what deadly loads are in their midst.Usually, these materials travel without incident, but when they do not — when an accidental spill occurs — the impact can be deadly, destructive and expensive.
Crude oil trains are derailing and leaking hazardous material in dramatically increasing numbers across the United States, rising from just a single serious incident in 2005 to 47 last year....
..... “It’s actually shocking what comes through the county every day on trains,” said Jeff Galloway, director of the Butler County Emergency Management Agency. “We have every chemical: hydrogen fluoride or chlorine or propane or methane, you name it. In 2012 there were over 23,000 rail cars of hazardous materials and products that flowed through Butler County.”...
... The 5,320 serious hazardous materials incidents since 2005 are a subset of the more than 157,000 hazardous materials incidents reported by carriers to USDOT and analyzed by this newspaper. Serious incidents are defined by the USDOT as hazardous material releases that: cause deaths or major injuries, the evacuation of 25 or more persons, closure of a major roadway, contain certain radioactive materials or severe marine pollutants, alter aircraft operations or contain more than 119 gallons or 882 pounds of a hazardous material....
.... U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and a spokeswoman for U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., all said more must be done at the federal level to improve the safety in the transport of hazardous materials..... more here
16-car train derails on CSX rail line in eastern Indiana
September 3, 2015 SF Gate
PARKER CITY, Ind. (AP) — Eastern Indiana officials say a 16-car train that derailed near a high school closed a county road for several hours......... Hendrickson says the derailed cars were empty coal cars..... more here
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Timeline of Recent Oil Train Crashes in the US and Canada
[Ed note: nine of the twelve incidents below involved fires and explosions.]
A Timeline Recent Oil Train Crashes in the US and Canada
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Rail 'safety' planning: common good, common sense in short supply
Train derailment sends crude oil cars into Kanawha River; explosions erupt, Feb 2015.
Mock derailment tests emergency response
LaCrosseTribune.com By Chris
Hubbuch June 10, 2015
[Scenario:] .... a freight
train hauling 2.7 million gallons of crude oil derails as it crosses Pammel
Creek on the South Side of La Crosse, spilling about 100,000 gallons of the
volatile cargo.
Traffic comes to a halt as
motorists stop to gawk at the overturned tankers beneath the overpass.
Firefighters struggle to get through the bottleneck.
Within minutes, the pool of oil ignites, searing the skin of everyone within 50 yards and sending a plume of toxic smoke into the air. Shortly after firefighters arrive, a tank car explodes in a fireball that can be seen for miles, killing a dozen people — including five firefighters — and injuring another 60.
That was the fictitious scenario posed to dozens of emergency responders Wednesday at an Onalaska conference center....
....The scenario outlined damages far beyond the loss of life:
- 86 nearby homes are damaged; 22 are uninhabitable, displacing 39 residents.
- The Mormon Coulee overpass is destroyed, hindering access for first responders and snarling traffic for months.
- Some 75,000 gallons of oil spills into the Mississippi River, spreading over 64 miles to Guttenberg, Iowa.
Participants on Wednesday discussed emergency response; today they will meet to look at recovery.
“That’s where the long tail is,” Satula said. “Recovery takes a long time.”..... “no kind of training is really going to prepare a fire department … for the kind of catastrophic event we’re going through today.”.........more here
[Ed note: no one discussed liability. ]
House Republicans' Safety Plan for Amtrak: Videotape the Next Derailment Rather Than Prevent It
By Tim Starks The New Republic
.....Tuesday, the GOP-controlled House passed a transportation spending bill that provides $9 million for inward-facing cameras in all cabs to record engineers on the job. The funding was added without objection from anyone in either party.
The cameras might have bipartisan support, but what they won’t do is prevent the next train accident. They are only useful when a crash has already happened. “Inward-facing cameras are very important for determining the reason for a crash afterwards,” Tho “Bella” Dinh-Zarr, the vice chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, told a Senate committee
Wednesday. And in the meantime, for all the Republican protests that
money for rail safety wasn’t an issue in the May derailment, the House’s
spending bill denies funding that very well could avert the next
disaster..... more here
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