La Crosse Citizens
Called to Wake Up and Recognize the Dangers of Oil Trains As
Canadians Lost in Derailment Disaster Last Year Are Remembered
La
Crosse residents gathered near Central High School and the rail
tracks Thursday to call for protection of local communities from the
dangerous oil trains that pass near several schools, business, homes,
and sensitive environmental areas every day.
The memorial service,
organized by the local group CARS (Citizens Acting for Rail Safety),
included a reminder by CARS member, Rev. Curtis Miller, that the
explosion that killed at least 47 people in Lac-Megantic, Quebec last
July 6, was not a natural disaster but rather a fully preventable
industrial accident.
The names and brief
biographies of the 47 Lac-Mégantic victims were read aloud as their
pictures were posted on oil train models provided by CARS. Many of
the victims, from babies to octogenarians, were so incinerated by the
force of the explosion they were not able to be identified by thecoroner. Three rail employees have
been charged with criminal negligence. The bankrupt Montreal, Maine,
and Atlantic Railway, Ltd. is named as a co-accused in the trial, but
none of its top officials have been charged.
Ironically, a 103 car
oil train, carrying at least three million gallons of volatile crude
oil, passed near the gathering and high school during the memorial
ceremony.
Following the ceremony,
CARS member, Guy Wolf of Stoddard, reminded the group that the
proximity of tracks to the river and its tributaries provides even
more opportunities for disaster. High flood levels may undermine rail
beds and bridges, and local emergency providers, some of whom are
sited within the potential blast zone, do not have the training,
equipment and staffing to deal with major spills or explosions. The
tracks through La Crosse pass near at least four public schools, and
the 1/2 mile “blast zone” includes nearly one-quarter of La
Crosse residents' homes, businesses and/or work places.
CARS member, Alan
Stankevitz, who maintains the comprehensive DOT111 Reader pointed out that industry and government officials have
known for decades that rail cars used in the transport of volatile
Bakken crude oil and many other toxic substances are known to be
unsafe because of their relatively thin skin and susceptibility to
ruptures.
A 2012 USA Today article on increasing oil shipments by rail notes that, “Larger
trains are harder to control, and that increases the chances of
something going wrong.” More oil was spilled in rail accidents inthe U.S. last year than in the previous four decades, according to
federal statistics.
And yet safety and
emergency preparedness is lagging terribly behind the ramp up in
domestic oil extraction. U.S. oil producers are slated to increasetheir output by about 750,000 barrels per day in 2015, according to
the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s first projections. If
export restrictions are eased by Congress, that figure may rise.
Besides the danger and
fear of exploding trains, La Crosse residents' quality of life is
being impacted by more, longer, and heavier trains. Noise, rumbling,
and dust have caused structural damage and made some residents' homes
nearly uninhabitable. Utilities workers have been delayed or blocked
by parked oil trains. Residents of neighborhoods with access crossed
by tracks worry that emergency responders and vehicles might be
impeded by parked or moving trains.
Organizers of the
event, are calling for the dangerous trains through the populated
City to stop, for effective emergency preparedness and the release
and dissemination of critical emergency response information to the
people of La Crosse, and for sweeping change of oil transport at the
federal regulatory level.
A national petition
calling for a ban on the use of outdated and unsafe DOT111 tank cars
is circulating at the website dot111.info. Known as “Pepsi cans on
wheels,” this model of rail cars is known to puncture and explode
due to substandard construction and the high volatility of Bakken
crude oil.
“Ticking time-bombs
should not be rolling by our schools and neighborhoods on a daily
basis. And it's not just our community. Dangerous oil-bomb trains are
threatening citizens and businesses all over the country,” said
Duane Teschler of Veterans for Peace.
“What is truly evil
about the train disaster in Lac-Mégantic is the fact that this
disaster could have been prevented if human life and safety were
valued as highly as maximum profits. This was not an accident but a
criminal act. The proximity of rail lines to schools and businesses
in our city make us realize that what happened in Quebec last year
could very easily have happened here,” said George Nygaard, a
member of CARS.
“I was more affected
than I thought I would be thinking about the people who were killed
in Lac-Mégantic. They could be my own friends and family members.
This immoral system - where producing more and more dirty fossil
fuels for export on the world market takes precedence over the lives
of people living and working in communities all across the country -
has to change. I don't want to see a La Crosse area resident
interviewed on national news about an oil train explosion near
Central High or major devastating contamination of the Mississippi
River. Things will not change until and unless all of us wake up to
these dangers and force things to change,” said CARS member, Irving
Balto.
CARS, Citizens Acting
for Rail Safety, sponsored the July 10 event.
