Category Archives: Explosion

Bakken Crude, Crude By Rail, Derailment, Explosion, Moratorium on oil trains, Rail Safety

Ralliers outside NY governor’s office call for ‘bomb train’ ban

Repost from WNYT, Albany NY

Ralliers outside governor’s office call for ‘bomb train’ ban

By: WNYT Staff, 05/07/2015 6:35 PM

ALBANY – Governor Andrew Cuomo likely receives a lot of mail.

However, on Thursday an attempt was made to hand deliver a letter to the Executive Mansion.

If you’re Andrew Cuomo, you’re only as good as your last decision and the group “People of Albany United for Safe Energy,” or PAUSE that was thanking the governor for his fracking ban, returned to their main mission — a bomb train ban.

The rally outside the Governor’s Mansion in Albany’s South End is just blocks from where the so-called bomb trains are stored and where they travel the rails on their way to and from the Albany port.

“We are unsafe. We have millions of gallons of oil coming in to Albany every day,” argued Sandy Steubing of PAUSE.

The group’s protest Thursday comes one day after six oil cars caught fire and exploded in North Dakota. The town was evacuated and no one was hurt, but each derailment — five in as many months — highlights the need, believe activists, for an oil train ban in New York.

“It is no longer a matter of if, but when. Joins in doing everything you possibly can to eliminate the ‘when’ from our lives,” urged Andrew Tarwerdi, also of PAUSE.

Last week the federal government announced new rules which it maintains will strengthen the safe transportation of flammable liquids by rail. The oil and rail industry has already announced it will challenge the rules in court.

“The derailment is a wakeup call that the industry needs to work on a solution and stop fighting the changes,” declared New York Senator Chuck Schumer.

The pause activists don’t think the federal regulations go far enough, soon enough, anyway. The hope is their letter, delivered to Governor Andrew Cuomo will convince New York to ban bomb trains

“Are we going to continue to let these trains explode and ruin our communities and kill our people,” asked Wille White, a South End advocate.

It’s important to note that in North Dakota, it was a really small town, only about 20 people had to be evacuated.

If there were an explosion in Albany, during the day when all the commuters are in town, the evacuation numbers would be in the thousands.

The state trooper outside the Governor’s Mansion said he could not take the letter.

So, it will have to be mailed after all.

Crude By Rail, Derailment, Explosion, Fire

Oil Train Explosions: A Timeline in Pictures

Repost from Sightline
[Editor:  An excellent summary that promises to be kept current.  This will replace the now outdated Bomb Trains facebook page.  Bookmark it!  (I hope someone will offer to edit this adding a few salient facts about each derailment/explosion.)  – RS]

Oil Train Explosions: A Timeline in Pictures

Ten explosions in two years, and no end in sight.
By Eric de Place and Keiko Budech, May 6, 2015 10:51 am

At 7:15 this morning, yet another crude oil train erupted into an inferno, this time near a small town in central North Dakota.  As these wildly dangerous trains continue to explode—at least 10 in the last two years—it’s become challenging to keep track of them all. So, for the record, we’ve assembled here a pictorial timeline of North America’s bomb trains.

Last week, the Obama administration adopted new regulations that will phase out many of the most hazardous tank cars over the next five to six years. The regulations also substantially reduce public oversight of train movements and industry behavior.

We will update this post as new explosions occur.

Heimdal, North Dakota: May 6, 2015

Heimdal ND 2015-05-06
Train derailment and tanker fire by Heimdal, ND, 2015-05-06. Pic courtesy of Jennifer Willis.

Gogama, Ontario: March 7, 2015

05_07_2015OntarioDerailment

Galena, Illinois: March 6, 2015

Galena_OilTrain_Derailment

Mount Carbon, West Virginia: February 16, 2015

20150217_Crude Oil train Derailment_0090_1_2

Timmins, Ontario: February 14, 2015

Timmins, ONT, derailment

Lynchburg, Virginia: April 30, 2014

James River, oil train derailment,oil trains

Plaster Rock, New Brunswick: January 8, 2014

NewBrunswickDerailment2

Casselton, North Dakota: December 30, 2013

North Dakota Oil Train Derailment

Aliceville, Alabama: November 8, 2013

Oil train derailment and river contamination, Aliceville, AL (2). Photo by John L. Wathen, used with permission.

 Lac-Mégantic, Quebec: July 6, 2013

Train derailment

Benicia CA, Crude By Rail, Derailment, Explosion, Take Action, Valero Benicia Refinery, Valero Crude By Rail

OIL TRAIN EXPLOSION RESPONSE – Rally for Benicia Awareness and Action! Thursday 5/7, 11:45am, City Park

Repost from Benicians For a Safe and Healthy Community (BSHC), Benicia, California

THURSDAY, MAY 6, 2015, 11:45 a.m.

Oil Train Derails, Explodes in North Dakota – Rally for Benicia Awareness and Action!
CITY PARK, FIRST & MILITARY, BENICIA, 11:45 a.m.

Everyone said it would happen again soon.
Well, Wednesday, May 6 was “The Next BIG ONE” …
… and one more is one too many!

Heimdal, North Dakota, 2015-05-06

We heard all-too-familiar news this morning – that an oil train derailed and exploded in North Dakota.  Only this time, it was just four days after the Department of Transportation released new rules for trains hauling hazardous crude oil. Residents of the town of Heimdal, North Dakota were evacuated and warned about smoke inhalation.  Thankfully, as of this writing, no one was injured or killed, but lives are upset, the land and air are fouled, and rainwater is gathering in an intermittent nearby waterway known as the Big Slough, which feeds into the James River 15 miles downstream.

At 11:45 a.m. Thursday, join us in City Park, First & Military in Benicia to protest the growing presence of explosive Bakken crude oil trains in the U.S. and Canada.  Together, we will call attention to the role that Benicia may (or may not) play in future explosions like the one that took place today, should the City permit Valero Refinery to build a crude-by-rail offloading facility here.

banthebombtrains350 Today’s explosion in North Dakota is the fifth explosive derailment that has occurred in the U.S. and Canada this year, including these previous accidents in 2015:

  • Gogama, Ontario Canada
  • Mount Carbon, West Virginia
  • Galena, Illinois and
  • Another one in Gogama, Ontario, Canada.

Since July of 2013, when a train carrying explosive Bakken crude oil from North Dakota derailed causing the deaths of 47 people in Lac Mégantic, Quebec, there have been four additional explosive derailments of Bakken crude in North America:

  • Aliceville, Alabama in November, 2013
  • Casselton, North Dakota in December of 2013
  • New Brunswick, Canada in January of 2014, and
  • Lynchburg, Virginia in April of 2014.

Because Valero plans to bring Bakken crude oil to Benicia, this same disaster could happen here, or anywhere along the way to our small city.

Benicia’s great opportunity in coming months is to say a firm NO THANKS to our friends at Valero, and to wish them well in our shared future of clean and renewable energy.

Crude By Rail, Derailment, Explosion, Moratorium on oil trains, Take Action

Albany NY – Citizens demand “Ban the bomb trains”

Press Release from People of Albany United for Safe Energy (PAUSE)

Citizens demand “Ban the bomb trains”

Albany, NY, May 7, 2015

PAUSE - People of Albany United for Safe EnergyAt noon today, on the sidewalk in front of the Governor’s mansion on Eagle St., citizens will be calling for a ban on the trains carrying crude oil by rail in New York. Yesterday marked the fifth fiery derailment this year and the tenth explosion since 2013 when 47 people died and the town of Lac-Megantic Canada was destroyed. In chronological order the explosions are:

• July, 2013 – Lac Megantic, Canada
• November, 2013 – Aliceville, AL
• December, 2013 – Casselton, ND
• January, 2014 – New Brunswick, Canada
• April 2014 – Lynchburg, VA
• February 14, 2015 – Timmins, Ontario, Canada
• February 16, 2015 – Mount Carbon, WVA
• March 5, 2015 – Galena, IL
• March 7, 2015 – Gogama, Ontario Canada
• May 6, 2015 – Heimdal, ND

During the protest we will sign a letter asking Governor Cuomo to take all necessary steps to halt the oil trains which may include using summary abatement for receipt and storage of the oil at the Port of Albany. Under the Environmental Conservation Law, summary abatement can be invoked if an activity is deemed to be an imminent hazard.

Dominick Calsolaro of PAUSE states “It is time for Governor Cuomo and Commissioner Martens to take drastic action and ban crude oil-carrying trains from traveling through New York State. There is no way to evacuate the whole city of Albany and the additional 70,000 daily workers who commute to our Capital City should one of these trains derail and catch fire downtown.”

What we do – or don’t do – in New York also impacts those south of us in New Jersey. Rosemary Dreger Carey of 350NJ states “In New Jersey, we’re very concerned about the news of another oil train explosion in North Dakota. That makes five explosions this year. Trains carrying Bakken crude run through our major cities and suburban communities day and night. A similar accident here in the most densely populated state in the country would be unthinkable.” Paul Rogovin, also from New Jersey with the Coalition to Ban Unsafe Oil Trains, remarks “We are glad to hear that no one was injured in today’s explosion in North Dakota, but I’m not sure we’d be safe from a similar blast in New Jersey. The new rules issued by the DOT this week give the industry three to five years to improve their cars, and several years more to upgrade their breaks. That’s unacceptable. Accidents don’t wait to happen. People are in danger now. Trains carrying highly volatile Bakken crude oil should be banned.”

Charley Bowen of the Western New York Peace Center in Buffalo agrees “We are glad no human life was lost. However, the residents of every house, village, town and city living nearby a rail line carrying explosive Bakken crude oil remain at risk of loss of life, limb and property. It’s a shame that public policy continues to support expensive fossil fuels to the detriment of humans and the environment when cheaper and infinitely safer renewable sources of energy are readily available. Gov Andrew Cuomo should act immediately to protect NY State residents, its environment and its increasingly precious aquifers. He should immediately invoke his summary abatement powers to stop the transport of dangerous Bakken crude oil in New York State. ”

Sandy Steubing of PAUSE concludes “At this rate the people of New York cannot wait another month, let alone years. There will always be human error and mechanical failures. There will always be train derailments. However, there can be no margin for error with a substance that is this volatile. Fortunately, world class scientists have proven we can rapidly phase out all fossil fuels.”

An energy feasibility study from Stanford and Cornell concludes that New York can derive 100% of its energy needs including transportation from the renewable sources of wind, water, and solar. Dr. Robert Pollin from the Political Economy Research Inst. of UMass Amherst has found that for a million dollar investment we can achieve five oil/gas jobs or thirteen solar jobs. Let us move away from a 19th century mode of transportation, carrying a 20th century energy source, into the 21st century of renewables.