[ Ed note: At least 3 firefighters and one depot worker
dead, and ten missing. People in a 2km (1.24 miles) zone around the oil tanks
currently on fire have been evacuated. ]
Crews battle huge fire at Ukraine oil depot
BBC News 06/09/15
Officials say at least eight petrol storage tanks, with a total capacity of up to 900 cubic metres (32,000 cu ft), are ablaze. The fire started on Monday.
Video [at site] shows a huge tower of smoke and flames rising into the sky, as Tom Burridge reports.
See also:
Ukraine crews battle blaze after 'huge' explosion outside Kiev
Firefighters from derailment stricken areas offer insight
06/08/2015 WNYT.com By Samantha DiMascio
ALBANY - Firefighters confronted by catastrophic oil train derailments shared their stories with people in Albany today. It was part of a summit put on by Albany County Executive, Dan McCoy and Sheriff Craig Apple at the College of St. Rose. McCoy said, in the last five years, the amount of crude oil traveling through Albany has tripled, posing a real threat for disaster. The two believe the best way to know how to respond, if and when a derailment does occur, is through lessons learned.Chief Tim Pellerin of Rangely, Maine responded to the derailment in Lac Megantic, which killed 47 people and leveled the town. He said until you experience the disaster a derailment produces, it’s hard to imagine the horror. “By the time the trains tip over, they catch fire and explode, call 911, it's too late,” said Pellerin...... more here
Oil Trains Don't Have to Derail or Explode to Be Hazardous, Doctors Warn
09 June 2015 00:00 By Dahr Jamail, TruthoutIn May, hundreds of doctors, nurses and health-care professionals from Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) called on Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to take a stronger position against proposed oil-by-rail shipping terminals in their respective states, in order to insure the health and physical security of families and communities there.
Washington PSR describes itself as a group that promotes "peace and health for the human community and the global ecosystem by empowering members, citizens and policy makers to develop and model for the rest of the nation socially just and life-enhancing policies regarding nuclear issues, climate change, environmental toxins, vulnerable populations and other risks to human health."
The group has sounded the alarm over what it sees as a direct health threat to the country stemming from the oil-by-rail system.
"We are dealing with a product [oil] that is harmful to human health at every single step along the process of extracting, transporting, storing and using it," said Dr. Mark Vossler, a cardiologist and chairman of the Department of Medicine at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, Washington.... more here
Thank you for putting this on the blog--from Washington State Physicians for Social Responsibility. This is an enormous piece of the puzzle to oil terminal resistance. Serious concerns for the well being of those located directly adjacent to the toxic fumes of these oil terminals. The issue of exploding and burning up our homes and communities, or leaking and destroying our waters is, of course, another most serious consideration. We can only hope that the EIS will include these areas which are, in my opinion impossible to mitigate.
ReplyDeleteAnd look, now Kiev is burning. Can we not take heed of these disasters before they start building oil terminals at Grays Harbor's Port in Hoquiam? When you analyze these proposals, considering the risks--seen right here, it's hard to imagine terminals could be placed in such sensitive areas--knowing what we now know.
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