A fireball at the site of an oil train derailment near Casselton, N.D., on Dec. 30, 2013. The derailment forced 1,400 residents to evacuate for several days. AP photo
Our petrochemical obsession: Rueing all that burns
A modest mitigation proposal for what is essentially human sacrifice for those who put out our fires.
By
Peter M. Leschak June 6, 2015 Star Tribune
In our
volunteer fire hall just after Christmas, we listened to a Minnesota
state college instructor discuss why the death rate from cancer and
heart disease is significantly higher among firefighters than in the
general population. The short answer: hydrogen cyanide. It’s the same
substance formerly employed to execute criminals in gas chambers.
Source? Burning petrochemicals.
It’s
no surprise — at least not to firefighters — that building construction
and furnishings have markedly changed in the past four decades. The
average home now incorporates 3,000 pounds of petroleum per floor, in
the form of everything from insulation to sofa cushions. As President
George W. Bush once said, “we are addicted to oil.”
....One of the latest
challenges for fire departments in Minnesota and other parts of the
nation and world are oil trains coming from the shale fields. In July
2013, at Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, tank cars hauling Bakken crude exploded,
killing 47 people and destroying half the town. Several months later,
another tank car blew up near Casselton, N.D., and the state’s former
Gov. (and Casselton native) George Sinner said the oil trains
represented a “ridiculous threat.”
True,
but don’t sweat it. There is a plan afoot to help prepare fire
departments for the ridiculous — details pending. It shouts volumes that
the knee-jerk reaction is to expedite another means for firefighters to
die.
New York state investment chief wants oil train answers
By Brian Nearing TimesUnion.com June 7, 2015
Albany -With the state pension fund holding about $1.8 billion in stocks from energy companies involved in crude oil trains, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli wants answers from them about steps being taken to reduce the risk of derailments, explosions and fires.
In letters written to 14 publicly traded companies, DiNapoli also asked how much insurance coverage they would have to pay for cleanups and damage if disasters struck. Last month, the Times Union reported that Canadian lawmakers are looking at imposing insurance requirements of up to $1 billion on rail companies that operate oil trains and that there are currently no such minimum insurance requirements in the U.S.Letters from DiNapoli went out to oil giant Exxon Mobil, as well as a Miami-based energy financing company that owned oil carried on the train that blew up in Lac Megantic, Quebec, in July 2013. The explosion killed 47 people and incinerated much of the downtown.
That tragedy sparked a growing national debate over the safety of massive oil trains, which can include more than 100 tankers each carrying 50,000 gallons of highly flammable oil from the Bakken fields of North Dakota. There have been derailments and fires in North Dakota, Virginia and Alabama.
"We need to know what companies are doing to safeguard against future mishaps which can lead to serious legal liabilities for the companies. As trustee of the state pension fund, I am concerned that future liability claims may harm the interests of the retirement system's members, retirees and beneficiaries," said DiNapoli on Friday.
His letters also asked the companies to provide information on any efforts to reduce the flammability of oil before it is shipped, as well as to explain who owns the rail cars used to ship oil. Bakken crude is much more flammable than regular crude oil and federal officials recently adopted new rules to phase out the older, less-sturdy tanker cars...... more here
So, as for New York, and so in Washington are a few crude oil derailments going to break the bank--subsequently it seems our retirement systems. This reasoning and logical connection should be enough to say, "Halt the trains, let's think about this." Alas, no, I don't think there could be another county such as Grays Harbor that has worked to hard to voice reason and the reasons--all documented, all bad for stopping 3 oil terminals and 110 crude oil trains a month. Apparently our Governor does not know of these risks and dangers of being in the sacrifice zone. If only his staff would tell him what is going on here--especially now that we have learned a few too many oil mishaps and what? Our retirement system could go bankrupt. One more risk for the public--none for the oil companies. This is too crazy...really! More absurd that the oil trains come, wreaking havoc all the way through and to those in the sacrifice zone. Even before learning the chances of the retirement systems go belly up--the cost of this venture was far to high.
ReplyDeleteInslee doesn't know?? if so he's too incompetent to be governor. If not- he's too corrupt.
ReplyDelete