Repost from ForestEthics
[Editor: ForestEthics has published an interactive map showing blast zones across the U.S., searchable by zip code or city. It may be a bit too ambitious in scope. For instance, details are missing in Northern California and Benicia. Still, it serves as a visual warning to all who live near the tracks as Big Oil and the railroad industry gear up for crude by rail. Check it out, and sign their petition while you are there. – RS]
When oil trains derail we all pay the price. How close are you and your family to a disaster waiting to happen? Use the ForestEthics blast zone map to find out and take action.
Millions of Americans live in the blast zone. Do you?
Every day the oil industry sends millions of gallons of highly flammable crude oil through cities and towns across North America. Our rail system was never built for this dangerous cargo.
It’s time to take action! Sign the petition: Tell the President and Congress to stop the threat of oil train disasters today!
To: US President Obama and Congress
It seems each month another town is facing a terrifying oil train derailment, poisoned drinking water, or a deadly explosion. Our rail system takes these trains through population centers by schools and homes. Safety standards are weak and our emergency responders are not equipped for accidents.
We are not prepared for this threat:
- Oil trains are more than a mile-long with 100+ cars, concentrating the risk of an accident that could ignite the three million gallons of crude on a single train.
- Oil train traffic has increased more than 4,000 percent in the last five years.
- Rail routes run right through major urban areas and cross water supplies. The US rail system was not designed to transport dangerous crude oil.
- Dangerous DOT-111 cars, which make up the majority of US oil tanker trains, have serious flaws that make them highly prone to puncture during a derailment.
We have the solution:
- The first step: Ban unsafe oil tanker cars.
- We must prepare and equip emergency responders and reroute trains around population centers and away from water supplies.
- New rail safety rules must be strong and must give citizens the information they need to protect themselves and the power to say no.
We do not need the extreme oil transported by these trains. The crude oil carried by train is more explosive and more toxic than conventional crude oil; it is also more carbon intensive. At a time when our oil use is decreasing and the threat of climate disruption is growing, the risk from oil trains is unacceptable.
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