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Train Derailments Raises Safety Concerns Over Crude By Rail


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#1 CNJRoss

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Posted 18 February 2015 - 12:59 PM

International Business Times, 2/17:

 
West Virginia Train Derailment Raises Safety Concerns Over Crude By Rail
  • 2015-02-17t015120z_1108223173_tm3eb2g1ll
    A train carrying more than 100 tankers of crude oil derailed in southern West Virginia on Monday, sending at least one into the Kanawha River, igniting at least 14 tankers and sparking a house fire, officials said. Reuters
  • csx.jpg?itok=3AjRiTso
    A combination photo shows a sequence of an explosion erupting from a CSX Corp. train derailment in Mount Carbon, West Virginia, pictured across the Kanawha River in Boomer, West Virginia, Feb. 16, 2015. Reuters/Steve Keenan

The fiery derailments of two trains carrying crude oil this week are raising fresh concerns about the safety of moving oil by rail. Recent accidents in West Virginia and Ontario come as federal regulators and transportation companies struggle to address a rapid rise in oil tanker trains due to the North American energy boom.

 

In West Virginia on Monday, a CSX freight train hauling up to 3.2 million gallons of oil derailed near the village of Boomer, launching fireballs 300 feet in the air and dumping crude into a river. West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin issued a state of emergency, and more than 2,000 residents were evacuated that evening. Local water supplies were shut off over concerns of contamination.

 

Late last Saturday, a 100-car oil train derailed in northern Ontario on its way to Alberta, with seven cars catching fire in a remote wooded area. CN Rail says the oil spilled from the train has been contained and doesn't appear to have seeped into waterways.

 

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#2 CNJRoss

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Posted 17 April 2015 - 08:52 PM

McClatchey News Service, 4/16:

 

Rail defect, tank car valves implicated in West Virginia oil train fire

 

WASHINGTON — Outlet valves underneath four tank cars in a February oil train derailment in West Virginia were sheared off and the 50,000 gallons of crude oil they released ignited in a fire that subsequently caused several nearby rail cars to explode, according to a federal report.

 

The report also identified the initial cause of the Feb. 16 derailment in Mount Carbon, W.Va., as a broken rail on track owned and maintained by CSX and said more than 362,000 gallons of crude oil were released. The fires and explosions from the derailment kept 300 residents away from their homes.

 

The report, which appeared Thursday in the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s hazardous materials incident database, highlights another issue with the design of the tank cars used to carry crude oil and their ability to resist damage from derailments and fire exposure.

 

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