MAY 6, 2015
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A train that derailed and caught fire
early Wednesday in rural North Dakota was hauling crude from the state's oil
patch, raising questions about whether new state standards intended to reduce
the volatility of such shipments are sufficient.
The six tank cars that exploded into flames were a model
slated to be phased out or retrofitted by 2020 under a federal rule announced
last week.
It's the fifth fiery accident since February involving that
type of tank car, and industry critics responded to the latest with calls for
them to be taken off the tracks immediately to prevent further fires.
No injuries were reported in the derailment of the 109-car
BNSF railway train at around 7:30 a.m. That prompted the evacuation of the
20-resident town of Heimdal, about 115 miles northeast of Bismarck.
The Health Department was monitoring air quality and
advising people not to breathe in the smoke. The danger from the smoke was
mainly the particles it contains such as ash, not toxic chemicals, State
Environmental Health Chief Dave Glatt said. Rain might have helped wash some of
the particles out of the smoke, though it might also keep the plume closer to
the ground and more likely to be encountered by people, he said.
In the immediate aftermath of the accident, BNSF vice
president Mike Trevino said, the intensity of the blaze prevented firefighters
from directly attacking the flames. As of Wednesday evening, two cars out of
six continued to burn, he said.
State officials initially reported 10 cars on fire but later
revised that to six. They were hauling Bakken oil loaded in the Tioga area,
said Jeff Zent, spokesman for Gov. Jack Dalrymple.
The six cars that caught fire were carrying approximately
180,000 gallons of oil, Trevino said. Investigators haven't been able to get
close enough to the spill to determine how much of the oil burned off, spilled
or remained in the cars, authorities said.
Curt Benson, a 68-year-old retired sheriff who alerted
authorities, said he was getting ready for the day when the explosion outside
town rattled his house. With the large number of oil trains that come through
the community each day, he figured that was the cause.
"I got in my car, still in my underwear, had shaving
cream on my face, and drove down there," he said.
There was no immediate word on the cause.
Industry representatives and state officials said oil
companies have been complying with a standard that went into effect April 1
requiring them to remove propane, butane and other gases that occur in North
Dakota crude to reduce the chance of tank cars catching fire. There was nothing
to immediately indicate a violation of that rule with the train involved in
Wednesday's accident.
The crude in the tank cars was being shipped by the Hess
Corporation, and regulators were seeking details on tests of the crude done by
the Texas-based company prior to the accident, said Federal Railroad
Administrator Sarah Feinberg.
Hess representatives did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
North Dakota officials said the new standard makes the
volatility of treated oil comparable to unleaded gasoline.
Members of Congress, who have called for a stricter standard
to be imposed at the federal level, said Wednesday's accident underscored that
more needs to be done to prevent oil train fires that could cause a major
disaster in an urban area. In 2013, a train loaded with crude from the Bakken
region derailed and exploded in the small town of Lac-Megantic, Quebec, killing
47 people.
"With trains carrying this highly-explosive material by
homes, schools and businesses each day, we need a strong national volatility
standard as opposed to a patchwork of state laws," said U.S. Rep. Nita
Lowey of New York, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.
Tessa Sandstrom with the North Dakota Petroleum Council said
safety efforts should instead focus on preventing accidents through enhanced
inspections of tracks and railroad equipment.
The rail line through Heimdal runs next to an intermittent
waterway known as the Big Slough, which drains into the James River about 15
miles downstream near Bremen, North Dakota.
There were preliminary indications that some oil from the
derailed cars got into Big Slough, but it will be difficult to verify until the
fire dies down, Glatt said. In a similar incident outside Casselton, North
Dakota, in December 2013, almost all of the spilled oil was consumed in the
fire, he said.
The Federal Railroad Administration, the National
Transportation Safety Board and the Environmental Protection Agency all sent investigators.
The EPA planned to gauge any contamination to waterways in the vicinity,
spokesman Rich Mylott said.
Since 2006, the U.S. and Canada have seen at least 24 oil
train accidents involving a fire, derailment or significant amount of fuel
spilled. Wednesday's derailment comes after the Department of Transportation
announced a rule Friday to toughen construction standards for tens of thousands
of tank cars that haul oil and other flammable liquids.
Feinberg said the Heimdal accident was "yet another reminder"
of the need for changes that have been resisted by the oil industry, which has
said it could take more than a decade to get unsafe tank cars replaced or off
the tracks. She said federal officials planned additional steps to improve oil
train safety but offered no specifics.
The cars that derailed were constructed under a 2011
voluntary rail industry standard intended to make them tougher than older cars
that were long known to pose a safety risk. But the new cars, each carrying
30,000 gallons of fuel, have proved equally dangerous.
Roughly 22,000 of the new cars that are used to haul crude
oil lack an extra layer of protection to shield them against fires or
explosions.
The easiness with which these trains derail and explode makes it clear that very little can be done to prevent these explosions and fires. The railroad industry is a "cheapskate" type of business. They do not make much money (so they claim) and they have been under-invested in infrastructure improvements for many-many-many years. The situation is helpless. Besides, it costs much less money to them to deal with these disasters and explosions and fires than to improve the railroad and tank car safety.
The oil and gas industry is another "cheapskate" type of business, despite the amounts of profits they make. They always spend the minimum amount on safety, as it affects their bottom line by lowering their profits without increasing oil or gas production.
Two cheapskates (railroads and oil and gas industries) come together and we have multiple of explosions and fires and property damage. Stay tuned, as things will not improve by any measurable degree.