Category Archives: Emergency Readiness & Response

Bakken Crude, Crude By Rail, Derailment, Emergency Readiness & Response, Explosion, Fire

New Technical Brief on Explosion, Fireball and Pool Fire Threats from Ignited Crude Oil

Repost from Homeland Security Today (HSTODAY.US)
[Editor: This article gives an overview of two expert briefs by AristaTek, both of which require sign-up and an online meeting before they can be downloaded.  Intended for hazmat teams, fire departments/fire marshals, sheriffs, and public safety/health professionals, but not available to the general public, SOMEONE should make sure our legislators, regulators, and first responders have accessed these important studies.  And hopefully, someone will share it with those of us who are opposing crude by rail.  I will post these documents here if/when I locate them.  – RS]

New Technical Brief on Explosion, Fireball and Pool Fire Threats from Ignited Crude Oil

By Anthony Kimery, Editor-in-Chief, 01/21/2015

In a follow-up to AristaTek’s January 2014 technical brief, Toxic Consequences of Smoke Plumes from Crude Oil Fires, that was prepared in response to the threat of an accident involving crude oil shipments, the company has prepared a new technical brief, Hazards Associated with Spilled Crude, to help with planning and response to accidents involving crude oil by consolidating several key pieces of information important to planners and responders.

A leading provider of hazardous materials planning and response solutions, AristaTek’s new brief to be released this week details the consequences of vapor cloud explosions, fireballs and pool fires for various quantities of spilled crude oil. AristaTek makes its technical briefings available at no cost to hazmat teams, fire departments, fire marshals, sheriffs, first responders and emergency response officials and any other public safety and health professionals to assist in their responsibility to protect their communities.

“We decided to do another tech brief on crude oil as there have been several articles lately about communities having done studies which show themselves to be largely unprepared for a disaster involving crude oil,” Homeland Security Today was told by AristaTek spokesman C. Scott Bunning. “Our brief provides a ‘Hazard Table’ for explosive and burn effects of both fireballs and pool fires for various along with other consolidated info we hope responders and planners will find as a useful resource.”

“During a train derailment involving crude oil, the immediate threats that responders worry about the most are the vapor cloud explosions and pool fires,” said AristaTek CEO Bruce King. “We felt analyzing these threats and providing an easy to follow table for various quantities of spilled crude would be a useful resource for planners and responders alike.”

“According to the American Association of Railroads, there were 362,000 carloads of crude oil shipped in the first three quarters of 2014,” the company said, pointing out that, “This amount is twice that of the same time period only two short years ago in 2012. Several high-profile accidents in 2013 highlighted the inherent dangers this substance can present to communities. Many states have conducted recent surveys of their response capabilities for accidents involving spilled crude and have found their responders largely unprepared for a large accident involving the substance.”

“A typical tank car may contain 30,000 gallons of crude oil, and could be part of a unit train containing over 100 tank cars. The most common accident is a train derailment, which may or may not result in a rupture spilling crude oil,” the brief says. And, “Because of its flammable nature, the crude may ignite resulting in explosions, fireball and pool fire. Multiple rail cars may be involved. The fire will also produce a dense black smoke cloud which could require evacuations or shelter -in-lace. There may be environmental concerns because of spills into a waterways.”

AristaTek said, “Crude oil presents several hazards when it is spilled in the environment and [its new technical brief] summarizes these hazards in a useful table. The first hazards happen when the spilled crude vaporizes, contacts an ignition source, explodes and also rapidly burns in a fireball. The resulting hazards are an explosion who blast is measured in overpressure, and the fireball which has a burn hazard for those standing too close.”

“The other hazard,” the firm said, “is a burn hazard associated with burning pool of spilled crude. The table offers safe-standoff distances for various quantities of spilled crude for all three hazards. The brief also offers some highlights of the recently issued industry reports on Bakken crude oil detailing characteristics of this type of crude and its lower flash point, and points out several government and industry sources for response information and protocols for emergency response.”

“The table of hazards was prepared using our flagship PEAC-WMD software, the world’s leading hazardous materials technical reference and modeling software,” King said. “Preparing this table and the brief overall is one of our efforts to provide a free but effective resource for those planners and responders attempting to prepare for this threat that isn’t going away any time soon despite the recent drop in oil prices.”

Bakken Crude, Crude By Rail, Derailment, Emergency Readiness & Response, Explosion, Fire, First responder training, Oil spill, Tar sands crude, U.S. Department of Transportation

KFBK News Radio: How safe is Sacramento?

Repost from KFBK News Radio, Sacramento CA
[Editor: Two part series, both shown below.  Of particular interest: a link to 2014 California Crude Imports by Rail.  Also, at the end of the article an amazing Globe and Mail video animation detailing the moments leading up to the devastating explosion in Lac-Megantic Quebec.  – RS]

Part 1: How Safe is Sacramento When it Comes to Crude-by-Rail?

By Kaitlin Lewis, January 16, 2015


Two different railroad companies transport volatile crude oil to or through Sacramento a few times a month. The trains pass through Truckee, Colfax, Roseville, Sacramento and Davis before reaching a stop in Benicia. Last week, a train carrying the chemical Toluene derailed in Antelope.

KFBK’s Tim Lantz reported that three cars overturned in the derailment. There was initially some concern about a possible Hazmat leak.

Union Pacific Railroad insists over 99 percent of hazardous rail shipments are handled safely.

Most of the oil shipped in California is extremely toxic and heavy Canadian tar sands oil, but an increasing portion of shipments are Bakken crude, which has been responsible for major explosions and fires in derailments.

Firefighters around the region are being trained on how to respond to crude oil spills.

However, Kelly Huston with the California Office of Emergency Services says 40 percent of the state’s firefighters are volunteers.

“They’re challenged right from the get-go of being able to respond to a catastrophic event like a derailment, explosion or spill of a highly volatile compound like crude oil,” Huston said.

Since 2008, crude by rail has increased by 4000 percent across the country.

By 2016, crude-by-rail shipments in California are supposed to rise by a factor of 25.

Union Pacific Railroad hosted a training session in November 2014.

Six out of the eight state fire departments listed as having completed the course confirm they were there.

“We were trained in November,” Jerry Apodaca, Captain of Sac City Fire, said.

When asked when he received the first notification of crude oil coming through, he said he didn’t have an exact date, but that it was probably a month or two prior to the training — in September or October.

Apodaca says the U.S. Department of Transportation requires railroads to notify state officials about Bakken oil shipments.

“Basically it just says in this month’s time, there should be 100,000 gallons going through your community. So it didn’t really specify when, or where, or how many cars or what it looks like,” Apodaca said.

And Paul King, rail safety chief of the California Public Utilities Commission, says it’s not easier to distinguish which lines transport Bakken oil through an online map.

“It was hard to interpret and it was too gross. Basically, the whole state of California on an 8 1/2 by 11 piece of paper with what appears to be a highlighter pen just running through the counties,” King said.

See a map of North American crude by rail.
California rail risk and response.
2014 Crude Imports by Rail

PART 2: How Sacramento’s First Responders Will Deal with Oil Spill


KFBK told you Sacramento’s firefighters were being trained on how to respond to a crude-by-rail derailment after shipments had already been going through the region in Part 1.

In Part 2, KFBK’s Kaitlin Lewis will tell you how Sacramento’s first responders will handle a possible oil spill, and what caused that train derailment along the Feather River Canyon.

It’s called a bomb train.

On July 6, 2013, 47 people were killed in Canada when a 73-car train carrying crude oil derailed.

About 30 buildings in the  Lac-Mégantic downtown district were destroyed. The fire burned for 36 hours.

“If we have a derailment and fire of crude oil, fire departments are going to throw large quantities of water and foam to cool the tanks and to put a blanket on the liquid that’s on the ground to help smother that fire,” Mike Richwine, assistant state fire marshal for Cal Fire, said.

Richwine says that’s the only operation for a spill/fire.

In December, 11 cars carrying corn derailed along the Feather River Canyon.

Paul King, rail safety chief of the California Public Utilities Commission reveals the cause was a rail line break.

“That was probably the most concerning accident because that just as well could have been one of the Bakken oil trains, the corn, you know, ran down the bank. It was heavy, and it consequently does put more force on the rail, but it’s about the same weight as an oil train,” King said.

Aaron Hunt, a spokesman for Union Pacific says California has more than 40 track inspectors and 470 track maintenance employees.

“In addition to that, cutting edge technology that we put in to use for track inspection. One of those technologies is our geometry car. It measures using lasers and ultrasonic waves, the space between the two rails — makes sure that space is accurate,” Hunt said.

But Kelly Huston, deputy director of California’s Office of Emergency Services says the real challenge is preparedness in remote areas like the Feather River Canyon, which is designated as a High Hazard Area due to historic derailments.

“In some more metropolitan areas, your response may be quicker and they’ll have that gear and the training and knowledge of, like, how do we fight this kind of fire? And in some areas, like in the more remote areas like we talked about in the Feather River Canyon there’s going to be perhaps maybe volunteer firefighters that have the basic equipment,” Huston said.

The Feather River feeds the California Water Project, which provides drinking water for millions of Californians. The nearest first responder is Butte County Fire Department, which is approximately 31 miles away.

Crude By Rail, DOT-111, Emergency Readiness & Response, Federal Regulation (U.S.), Tank car retirement, Train speed, U.S. Department of Transportation

Groups Question Industry Influence on Oil Train Safety Rules, submit FOI request

Press Release from ForestEthics

Groups Question Industry Influence on Oil Train Safety Rules

Freedom of Information Requests Target Five Federal Agencies, Nearly 100 Lobbyists

By Eddie Scher, Jan 15, 2015

Today four public interest groups requested records exchanged between five US government agencies and nearly 100 oil and rail industry representatives on new oil train safety standards. The Department of Transportation announced yesterday that the agency would miss the January 15 deadline set by Congress and issue final rules by May 12, 2015.

“New oil train safety standards are decades late: the National Transportation Safety Board first called antiquated DOT-111 tank cars unsafe for hauling crude oil in 1991,” says Ross Hammond, ForestEthics US campaigns director. “But the administration seems to have trouble asking the oil and rail industry for common sense safety standards like speed limits, sharing information with firefighters, and a ban of the most dangerous cars.”

The Freedom of Information Act requests filed by ForestEthics, Communities for a Better Environment, Ezra Prentice Homes Tenants Association (Albany, NY), and Citizens Acting or Rail Safety (La Crosse, WI) name 97 individual lobbyists from the American Petroleum Institute, Association of American Railroads and specific oil and rail companies, including Chevron, Tesoro, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF). Among the lobbyists named are six former members of Congress: Trent Lott, Vin Weber, John Breaux, Steve LaTourette, Max Sandlin and Bill Lipinski.

“The public has the right to know how an army of lobbyists is influencing the Department of Transportation,” says Ross Hammond, ForestEthics US campaigns director. “Oil trains carrying millions of gallons of toxic, explosive crude oil threaten the 25 million Americans who live in the blast zone. DOT should listen their own safety experts and quickly finalize strong new standards that take DOT-111s off the tracks, slow these trains down, prepare first responders and protect families.”

Government agencies and officials covered by this FOIA request are US Department of Transportation, National Transportation Safety Board, Surface Transportation Board, Federal Railroad Administration, and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

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ForestEthics demands that corporations and government protect community health, the climate, and our wild places. We’ve secured the protection of 65 million acres of wilderness by pushing major companies to shift hundreds of millions of dollars to responsible purchasing. www.ForestEthics.org

Crude By Rail, Emergency Readiness & Response, Foam, Rail inspection

Survey Finds Oregon Fire Departments Not Equipped For Oil Train Accident

Repost from Oregon Public Broadcasting (NPR)
[Editor: Interesting video interview with Portland Fire & Rescue – scroll down the page.  And yes, you KNEW I would have to ask: has the California State Fire Marshall (Tonya Hoover) undertaken a similar survey?  Here is the Cal. Fire Marshall’s contact information.  – RS]

Survey Finds Oregon Fire Departments Not Equipped For Oil Train Accident

By Cassandra Profita, Jan. 15, 2015

A survey by the Oregon State Fire Marshal found 81 percent of the state’s fire departments don’t have the equipment they need to respond to an oil train accident.

In a report to Gov. John Kitzhaber’s office, the fire marshal tallied up $2.7 million in “start-up” costs for the additional equipment, personnel and training needed for the state to prepare for a crude oil incident.

The governor’s office says it’s unclear where that money would come from, but the governor is working with lawmakers to bridge the gap.

“Rail safety is a priority for the governor,” said Kitzhaber spokesman Chris Pain. “It’s very important to him to address these gaps and to figure out how to get the additional resources to support our already well-trained hazmat teams and other first responders across the state.”

Explosive oil train derailments in the U.S. and Canada over the past couple years have raised safety concerns as more and more crude oil travels by rail through the Northwest.

In response, Kitzhaber is studying what his state needs to handle an oil train emergency.

A safety gap assessment report ordered by the governor last year concluded the state needs more rail safety inspectors and training for emergency responders. It also concluded that the Oregon State Fire Marshal should find out whether fire departments are equipped to respond to a derailment if it happens here.

After a survey of 127 fire chiefs, the fire marshal has concluded that most are not; 81 percent said their departments don’t have the equipment needed to respond to a crude oil incident.

Around 50 fire departments said they’re lacking firefighting foam and oil-absorbing boom. Dozens of departments also reported lacking personal protective equipment, air monitors and foam applicators. Of those surveyed, 80 fire departments reported their jurisdictions have railways carrying crude oil or other hazardous materials.

“The overriding takeaway is a majority of fire agencies with crude oil trains traveling through their jurisdictions indicate they do not have enough equipment to respond to a crude oil incident,” the fire marshal’s report concludes.

The report recommends adding six trailers equipped with firefighting foam and protective gear at strategic locations throughout the state to make up for the shortfall.

That won’t get every fire agency the materials they would need to respond to an oil train accident, the report says, but it would spread essential equipment across the state so it will be accessible in case of an emergency. The report also notes that in addition to the $2.7 million in start-up costs, there will be ongoing maintenance costs in future years.

Scappoose Fire Chief Mike Greisen, whose agency sees about a dozen oil trains pass through its jurisdiction every month on their way to an oil terminal near Clatskanie, said his department can’t afford the firefighting foam and special training it needs to be ready in case one of those trains derails. He’s applied for a $20,000 grant to pay for his firefighters to take a training class.

“We can’t afford to practice because foam is $32 a gallon and you can go through five gallons a minute,” he said.

He said the state should step in to help local fire departments get the equipment they need.

“They really need to sit down and figure out where some funding is going to come from,” he said.

Fire Chief Tim Moor at Redmond Fire and Rescue said he thinks the railroads should bear the primary responsibility for responding to an oil train incident because the state won’t be able to afford all the equipment needed.

“They need to be accountable when they’re transporting it,” he said. “Should there be a derailment or accident, it’s probably going to come down to the private sector and then state agencies doing the best they can with the equipment we have.”