Category Archives: Derailment

Bakken Crude, Derailment, DOT-111, Emergency Readiness & Response, National Transportation Safety Board

Fire safety officials to NTSB: very little we can do

Repost from the White Plains NY Journal News on LoHud.com

NTSB hears concerns on derailments of oil trains

Brian Tumulty, TJN  |  April 23, 2014
A CSX train carrying light crude oil makes it way through West Nyack on March 17, 2014.(Photo: Ricky Flores Ricky Flores/The Journal News)

WASHINGTON – Crude oil and ethanol fires caused by derailed freight trains are left to burn out on their own because first responders can’t extinguish them, fire safety officials told the National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday.

“They are no-brainers,” Greg Noll of the National Fire Protection Association said during the second day of a two-day forum on safety issues linked to rail transport of crude oil and ethanol. “There is very little we as first responders are going to do.”

Even multiple fire departments located near the site of a railroad tanker fire don’t have enough foam to extinguish such blazes, which can spread from car to car. The DOT-111 tankers that carry most crude oil moved by freight rail can’t quickly vent high-pressure vapors that build up inside the cars, railroad experts said during the first day of the forum Tuesday. They said those vapors can ignite into a thermal mushroom cloud.

The use of so-called unit trains carrying up to 100 tanker cars of crude oil or ethanol is a relatively new phenomenon that risks catastrophic events such as the July 2013 accident in Quebec that caused 47 deaths and the evacuation of more than 2,000 people.

The engineer on that crude oil train failed to properly secure it on an incline when it was parked overnight. The train rolled into the community of in Lac-Megantic, derailing at a speed of 64 mph.

An estimated 434,000 tanker loads of crude oil were shipped by rail last year, compared to only 9,500 in 2008, according to the Association of American Railroads.

Much of that oil was carried, mostly on freight trains, from the Bakken Formation oil field in North Dakota and Montana to refineries on the East, West and Gulf coasts. Oil production in the Bakken field reached 1 million barrels a day in December and is forecast to peak at 2 million barrels a day in seven years, Skip Elliott of CSX Transportation told the NTSB.

Deadly derailments of trains carrying crude oil and ethanol also have raised questions about tanker car design, but industry groups say they haven’t been able to agree on the thickness of steel in the shell of new tankers.

Rail tanker manufacturers said they’re ready to increase production to meet increased demand, but want regulatory certainty about the future standard.

Industry officials said a disagreement over one-eighth-of-an-inch thickness of steel for the shell — whether to continue using 7/16ths of an inch or move to 9/16ths of an inch — led them to ask federal regulators to promulgate a rule setting the standard for new tanker cars.

The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which has jurisdiction over rail tanker car safety standards, has not yet proposed a new standard. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who oversees the agency, has told Congress no date has been set for releasing a draft of the proposed standard.

Derailment, Explosion, Lac-Mégantic, Victim compensation

The legal quagmire of Lac-Mégantic

Repost from The Montreal Gazette

Plans are finally taking shape for financial compensation of derailment victims

By Monique Beaudin, Gazette environment reporter April 20, 2014
The legal quagmire of Lac-Mégantic
The light fades over the Appalachian Mountains in Lac-Mégantic a couple of weeks after the train derailment in July 2013. Eight months later, plans for compensation are coming together. Photograph by: Allen McInnis , Montreal Gazette

Nine months after a runaway oil train derailed in Lac-Mégantic, killing 47 people and destroying a large chunk of the town, a plan for financially compensating disaster victims is taking shape.

Judges in Quebec and Maine have approved a joint cross-border process for victims of the accident to file claims against Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway and its Canadian operations, Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Canada. The two companies have been under bankruptcy protection since August.

Thousands of claims related to the derailment are expected to be filed against MMA. Public information meetings on the financial-claims process are to begin in Lac-Mégantic next week. Claims must be filed by the middle of June.

People who lost family members, homes and businesses have turned to Canadian and American courts for financial compensation, but the process has been slow. The estates of several of the 47 people killed on July 6 have filed wrongful-death lawsuits in the U.S. Lawyers have also begun proceedings to bring a class action in Quebec. Quebec has already ordered six companies to clean up and decontaminate the town, a move that is facing a legal challenge.

The American lawyer overseeing MMA’s U.S. bankruptcy proceedings himself admits figuring out how victims will be compensated is “quite complicated”.

One of the biggest questions is who has the money to pay for the accident — compensating victims and secured creditors, covering cleanup costs and paying damages that several companies are claiming as a result of the derailment.

MMA was sold in January to New York-based Railway Acquisitions Holdings, for $14.25 million, less than what it owes its secured creditors.

That leaves a $25-million insurance policy and the possibility of a settlement fund composed of contributions from several companies targeted by legal action after the accident, said Robert Keach, MMA’s U.S. Chapter 11 trustee.

Another possible source of financial compensation for victims could come from a lawsuit Keach filed against World Fuel Services, Western Petroleum and Petroleum Transport Solutions, the companies that arranged for the shipment of the crude oil on the train. Keach argued they were to blame for the accident since the oil had been mislabelled as being less volatile than it actually was.

New York-based lawyer Luc Despins is counsel to a victims’ committee made up of residents, the town of Lac-Mégantic and the Quebec government. The committee represents victims’ interests in MMA’s American bankruptcy proceedings, offering input on issues like the compensation process, he said.

Despins said the committee’s goal is to get as much money as possible to the Lac-Mégantic victims as quickly as possible. But, he cautioned, not all claims filed may be accepted.

“If someone agrees their house was worth $600,000 and they got the full $600,000 from their insurance company, and that’s their only claim, they should not be recovering twice, this is not a lottery,” he said. “They may have other claims, but as far as the house I gave as an example is concerned, they can’t recover twice.” The courts will decide who has a valid claim, Despins said.

LOGISTICS: WHAT’S NEXT FOR VICTIMS OF THE DISASTER

Victims of the accident have until June 13 at 5 p.m. to file a proof of claim against Montreal, Maine and Atlantic.

Public information meetings on the claims process are to be held in Lac-Mégantic between April 22 and May 5, and assistance will be provided to help people complete the claims forms, according to an order issued by Quebec Superior Court. Victims who do not file a claims form by June 13 will not be permitted to participate in the Canadian or U.S. bankruptcy proceedings or receive any payment made available in those proceedings.

Claims forms and information about the claims process are posted on the website of Montreal-based Richter Advisory Group, the company’s Canadian bankruptcy monitor, at www.richter.ca under “Insolvency Cases” or  http://bit.ly/mmamonitor.

LEGAL ACTIONS INVOLVING VICTIMS OF LAC-MÉGANTIC

A request has been filed to approve a class-action lawsuit in Quebec against MMA, World Fuel services, Irving Oil, Canadian Pacific, the federal government and others. More than 1,550 people have registered with the class action so far.

A committee of three Lac-Mégantic residents, a representative of the Quebec government and the town of Lac-Mégantic represents victims’ interests in MMA’s U.S. bankruptcy proceedings.

The estates of 19 people killed in the Lac-Mégantic train derailment filed wrongful-death lawsuits in Illinois, naming several defendants, including MMA, company chairman Edward Burkhardt, MMA’s parent company Rail World, and World Fuel Services, which arranged for the transportation of the crude oil on the train. All except two of those lawsuits have been withdrawn while American courts decide where they will be heard. A law firm representing the estates says it plans to appeal a recent decision from a U.S. federal judge ordering the cases transferred to Maine, where MMA’s bankruptcy proceedings are being held. One of the issues at play is the amount of money that could be awarded as damages. Illinois has no cap on such payments, while Maine limits them to $500,000 in wrongful-death cases.

POSSIBLE SOURCES OF FINANCIAL COMPENSATION

A $25-million insurance policy MMA has with XL Insurance. Many people and companies are interested in the insurance policy. They include:

– Victims of the Lac-Mégantic derailment, such as the families of people killed in the accident, those who were injured or those who suffered losses to their businesses or homes.

– CIT Group, a company that owned some of the locomotives and tank cars involved in the accident. CIT has said it plans to settle any claims against it from wrongful-death lawsuits tied to the derailment with the XL insurance policy.

– MMA chairman Edward Burkhardt, who has been named in several legal actions linked to the derailment, argued in U.S. bankruptcy court that he is covered by the policy.

Settlements from legal action taken by MMA’s bankruptcy trustee against World Fuel Services.

The creation of a settlement fund made up of financial contributions from companies that may be liable for the accident.

TIMELINE OF THE LEGAL FALLOUT

July 6, 2013: A 72-car oil train pulled by five locomotives unexpectedly rolls down railway tracks into the town of Lac-Mégantic. Most of the cars derail, leading to explosions and a fire that kills 47 people and destroys much of the downtown core. Nearly 6 million litres of crude oil spill in the accident.

July 15, 2013: Lac-Mégantic lawyer Daniel Larochelle and two other law firms file a request in Quebec Court to begin class action proceedings against MMA and 14 other companies and individuals.

July 22, 2013: Annick Roy files a wrongful-death lawsuit in Illinois court on behalf of the estate of Jean-Guy Veilleux and their daughter. Veilleux was killed July 6.

Aug. 7, 2013: MMA files for bankruptcy protection in Canada and the U.S.

Aug. 14, 2013: A total of 19 wrongful-death cases have been filed in Illinois court.

Aug. 22, 2013: The Quebec government announces the creation of a victims’ committee to represent Lac-Mégantic residents, the government and the town in the U.S. bankruptcy proceedings.

Jan 23, 2014: Bankruptcy judges in Canada and the U.S. approve the sale of MMA to Railway Acquisitions Holdings of New York for $14.25 million U.S.

Feb. 12, 2014: Lawyers for the proposed Quebec class action add Transport Canada to the list of more than 50 organizations and people it plans to sue.

Feb. 26, 2014: A joint Canada-U.S. bankruptcy meeting between creditors tries to speed up the pace of the claims process.

April 2014: The MMA sale to RAH is expected to be finalized.

June 13, 2014: This is the proposed deadline for victims and creditors to file claims against MMA in the Canadian and U.S. bankruptcy proceedings.

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH MONTREAL, MAINE AND ATLANTIC

The railway company whose runaway oil train derailed in Lac-Mégantic on July 6, 2013. It is in the process of being sold to Railway Acquisition Holdings, a New York City -based company, for $14.25 million U.S. RAH plans to change the name of the company to Central Maine and Quebec Railway, and offer rail service on MMA’s 800 kilometres of tracks in the two countries.

RAH is acquiring two companies:

Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway

  • Parent company of Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Canada.
  • Operates a shortline railroad in Vermont and Maine.
  • Under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since August.

Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Canada

  • Railway operating in Quebec.
  • Under bankruptcy protection since August.
Bakken Crude, Derailment, Explosion, Federal Regulation (U.S.), Lac-Mégantic, Rail industry, Spill prevention and response

All about Bakken Crude, by Guy Cooper, Martinez Gazette

Repost from The Martinez Gazette

Martinez Environmental Group: The oil, pick your poison

By Guy Cooper | April 20, 2014

Two types of North American crude will roll through our towns. There’s the Bakken crude fractured from the shale beds of North Dakota and the oil/tar sand derivatives rent from the wilds of Alberta, Canada. The former has the potential to vaporize you and your neighborhood.  The latter can slowly render your land and water and body uninhabitable.

It was Bakken crude that blew up the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, last July, exploded and poisoned the wetlands of Aliceville, Ala., in November, and just missed annihilating the town of Casselton, N.D., in December. That’s just a sample.

Lac-Mégantic was the eye opener. An improperly equipped and under-staffed 70-car tanker train heading east from the oil fields of Dakota was left parked on the main line above the town with an incorrectly set brake. In the early morning hours, the train broke free and careened down the hill, derailing in the center of town. OK. A train derailment due to human error.  An unfortunate accident. One would expect a nasty oil spill and big clean up to follow.

That’s not what happened. The train exploded in concussive fireballs that flattened the downtown and instantly killed 47 people. Aerial images show an area the size of downtown Martinez reduced to rubble. Flaming oil flows poured like lava from the burning train into the nearby river and lake, cooling into an intractable underwater toxic waste deposit. It took four days just to extinguish the fires. Who knows how long it will take to clean up the mess. And, of course, 47 lives lost.  The town will never be the same.

That tragic episode got people’s attention. Crude oil is not supposed to explode. It was first thought an anomaly. Maybe the train crashed into tanks of propane. That was disproved. Then there were the pools of carcinogenic benzene fire crews found themselves slogging through. Not normal.

Well, it won’t happen again. Then it did, at Aliceville and Casselton.

What was this stuff that reacted in such an uncharacteristic way? People living beside the tracks wanted to know. Emergency responders wanted to know. Local officials and the Canadian and U.S. government agencies responsible for public safety, train regulation and hazardous materials handling sought answers. Investigations and regulatory hearings commenced. About the only people not publicly showing a lot of interest, besides issues of liability, were the companies responsible for the oil production, movement and refining. Accidents happen. Normal precautions were taken. Regulations were followed. We know what we’re doing. Let’s get the PR, lawyers and lobbyist guys on this.

In response, Grant Robertson of the Toronto Globe and Mail visited the Bakken oil fields. An oil worker invited him in and produced a mason jar of fresh-out-of-the-ground Bakken crude.  “Smells like gasoline, doesn’t it? Some guys around here pour it directly in their trucks.”  The local joke is if most crude looks like a pint of Guinness, Bakken looks like Miller Lite.

The Chemical Engineer, an industry source, reported the results of chemical analysis by Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) that largely corroborated Mr. Robertson’s hands-on experience. Flashpoint refers to the temperature at which the crude gives off enough vapor to ignite. The lower the flashpoint, the more explosive the crude. The TSB results indicated a flashpoint from Lac-Mégantic samples so low that the measuring machine could only show that it was less than -35 C. The report concluded that “It is apparent that the occurrence crude oil’s flashpoint is similar to that of unleaded gasoline.”

High vapor pressure was also found, another explosive indicator. As I understand it, vapor pressure suggests the combustible gas content of an oil. The refiner Tesoro reported in early 2013 a reading of 12 psi for Bakken. Marathon Oil reported readings of 9.7 and 8.75 between 2010 and 2013, then in 2014 (after the explosions of 2013, just saying …), reported a 5.94 result.  Analysts consider that low reading an aberration, but even that number is about twice the average of most crude oils.

This is the problem. The Lac-Mégantic train cargo was assigned a packing group III classification by the largely self-regulated oil producers based on an either missed or deliberately misleading evaluation of the real volatility. Fact is, the higher the classification number, the lower the cost of transport. Class III is considered low risk. A more realistic classification I or II would have required more train staffing, beefier cars, enhanced disaster planning and other safeguards.  In other words, there would have been someone else to double check on the brake and the train could not have been left unattended on the main line while the sole engineer went five miles away to a hotel for the night. A spot check of trucks transporting Bakken from the well-heads to rail-loading facilities found a similarly pervasive cargo mis-classification. The fact is, that left to their own devices, without adequate independent regulatory oversight, oil producers, transporters and refiners are invariably going to pick the lowest-cost strategy to bring their product to market. This is the current state of the surrounding industry we are entrusting with our safety. Not a good idea.

Derailment, DOT-111, National Transportation Safety Board, Public Safety, Rail tanker cars, Take Action

NY Times: More shipments, new accidents and calls for safety

Repost from The New York Times, Business Day [Editor – this NYT article was a detail sheet linked to the major article, “Despite Rise in Spills, Hazardous Cargo Rides Rails in Secret“.  I am posting here because it is a serious contribution to our understanding of the huge increase in rail disasters in 2013-14.  – RS]

More Shipments, New Accidents and Calls for Safety

    A sharp increase in rail shipments of oil over the past decade has been accompanied by accidents and derailments that have renewed the debate about regulating transportation of hazardous materials. The shipments are regulated by federal authorities; state and local officials have little say. Despite warnings of safety risks, measures to restrict or ban such transportation have been defeated.                      Related Article
More Shipments, New Accidents and Calls for Safety
More Shipments, New Accidents and Calls for Safety