Bakken crude oil onboard train derailment in West Virginia

Second incident within days

MOUNT CARBON, WV: A train carrying more than 3 million gallons of crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken shale derailed in a snowstorm in an unincorporated area near Mount Carbon, West Virginia on Tuesday, February 17, 2015, shooting flames into the sky and evacuating hundreds of nearby residents from their homes.

At this time, it is unsure how many gallons out of the 3 million gallons of crude oil onboard spilled into a Kanawha River tributary. According to the train company, CSX, one homeowner was treated for smoke inhalation, but no other injuries were reported.

TIMMINS, ONT: Shortly before midnight on the Saturday prior to the Mount Carbon, WV derailment, another train carrying Bakken crude derailed in a remote area of Timmins, Ontario. In an emailed statement, Canadian National Railway (CN) spokesman Patrick Waldron, said “Seventy-one cars of the 100-car train have been safely moved away from the derailment site. Early site assessments indicate that at total of 29 cars are involved in the incident.” He added “That same assessment indicates that seven cars of those 29 are involved in the fire.” The cause of the incident wasn’t yet known and is under investigation.

Critics on both sides of the Keystone XL Pipeline controversy voice their opinions of rail vs pipeline:

According to Department of Transportation records reviewed by The Associated Press, reports of oil leaking from railroad tank cars have increased from 12 in 2008 to 186 last year and trains hauling Bakken-region oil have been involved in major accidents in Virginia, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Alabama and Lac-Megantic, Quebec, where 47 people were killed by an explosive derailment in 2013.

Daniel Kish, an Institute for Energy Research vice president, said in an interview that “trains remain a safe way to move oil” and that “the U.S. rail industry has met the demands of the recent domestic-energy boom,” but he feels underground pipelines are a safer method of transport.

Kish states, “Any time you make more trips – whether its trains, trucks or buses – accidents increase… I’m not trying to scare people, but the records show that if you move more stuff there will be more problems.” He adds, “But I have to say to myself: ‘The fewer the number, the safer the transportation, which leads me to the pipeline being built.’ “

Bob Deans, with the Natural Resources Defense Council, states “We’ve had 6,000 pipeline blowouts or leaks over the past two decades.”

An article published on February 11, 2015 on http://www.thehill.com states “The House voted to approve legislation authorizing construction of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, setting up the first major veto of Obama’s presidency. The White House has repeatedly said President Obama will veto the legislation, and Republicans do not appear to have the two-thirds majority in either chamber to override him. The only mystery left is when and how Obama will announce the veto.”

Meanwhile, TransCanada Chief Executive Officer, Russ Girling, told reporters in Toronto in early February that the company is tired of waiting for a resolution of the Keystone XL delays. Their Canadian competitors, Kinder Morgan and Enbridge have begun building rail capacity.

Critics say the oil will move one way or another, but which transportation method will be used remains uncertain.

 

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