Transport and Infrastructure Disasters

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Ohio catastrophe is ‘wake-up call’ to dangers of deadly train derailments

Sat 11 Feb 2023 10.00 GMT

Five days after a train carrying vinyl chloride derailed and exploded near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, crews ignited a controlled burn of toxic chemicals to prevent a much more dangerous explosion.

Thousands in East Palestine, a town of about 5,000 people, evacuated, and officials warned the controlled burn would create a phosgene and hydrogen chloride plume across the region. Phosgene is a highly toxic gas that can cause vomiting and breathing trouble, and was used as a weapon in the first world war.

Though no one died in the accident, the catastrophe serves as a wake-up call to the potential for more deadly freight rail derailments, public health advocates warn. By one estimate, 25 million Americans live in an oil train blast zone, and had the derailment occurred just a few miles east, it would be burning in downtown Pittsburgh, with tens of thousands of residents in immediate danger.

Ineffective oversight and a largely self-monitoring industry that has cut the nation’s rail workforce to the bone in recent years as it puts record profits over safety is responsible for the wreck, said Ron Kaminkow, an Amtrak locomotive engineer and former Norfolk Southern freight engineer.

“The Palestine wreck is the tip of the iceberg and a red flag,” said Kaminkow, who is secretary for the Railroad Workers United, a non-profit labor group that coordinates with the nation’s rail unions. “If something is not done, then it’s going to get worse, and the next derailment could be cataclysmic.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... ke-up-call
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Nanotechandmorefuture
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We got a similar situation to Ohio here as well. Source:

https://www.local10.com/news/local/2023 ... s-to-burn/
A waste-to-energy facility in Doral continued to burn Monday, one day after catching fire and sparking a massive blaze.
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More than a dozen hurt in industrial blast outside Cleveland
Source: NBC News
More than a dozen people were injured, at least one critically, in an industrial plant explosion outside Cleveland on Monday, NBC affiliate WKYC of Cleveland reported.

The late-morning blast at the I Schumann & Co. metal alloy manufacturer in Oakwood Village southeast of Cleveland was described by a captain with the Oakwood Fire Department as a "large explosion."

The official said at least one person was flown by helicopter to a hospital. The subsequent fire was under control Monday afternoon, but crews were still working on hot spots, the captain said.

The blast sent debris across the street, produced a crater in a building, and created a smoke plume that could be seen for miles, according to social media video reviewed by NBC News and as seen in affiliate footage from the scene.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/do ... -rcna71518
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Greece train crash: at least 36 killed and dozens injured in collision
Source: The Guardian

At least 36 people have been killed and 85 injured after two trains collided near the town of Tempe in central Greece, the fire brigade said.

A passenger train, travelling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki, and a cargo train, going from Thessaloniki to Larissa, collided head-on outside the central city, Konstantinos Agorastos, the governor of the Thessaly region, told local media.

“The collision was very strong,” he said, adding that the first four carriages had derailed, while the first two were “almost completely destroyed”.

Agorastos said about 194 passengers were evacuated safely to Thessaloniki on buses.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... derailment
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Amid Hollow Pledges from Rail Industry, Sec. of Transportation Buttigieg Must Act Now to Restore Obama-Era Safety Measures for Toxic Rail Cargo
March 9 , 2023

Introduction:
(Common Dreams) WASHINGTON - Today a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee was held to consider Protecting Public Health and the Environment in the Wake of the Norfolk Southern Train Derailment and Chemical Release in East Palestine, Ohio. At the hearing, officials from Norfolk Southern Railroad, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and state and local agencies were questioned.
In response, Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter issued the following statement:

“After years spent pushing to roll back the very sorts of safety regulations that would have prevented an accident like this, Alan Shaw’s apology today rings hollow. If Norfolk Southern had real concern for the safety of the countless communities like East Palestine through which their trains run, they would be calling for more safety measures for the industry. Instead they offer voluntary steps that can easily be undone, prioritizing profit margins over people.

“Our team has been on the ground since the burn-off, meeting and organizing residents, partnering with allied organizations to bring needed resources, and coordinating proper testing for families that have been turned away by the very regulatory agencies created to protect them. This should be a stark reminder that our government agencies are far from prepared to respond to these accidents in spite of how often they occur.
Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/ ... ail-cargo
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Trains derail in Arizona and Washington, with oil spilled on Puget Sound tribal land
Source: Associated Press


March 17, 20233:10 AM ET
By The Associated Press

Code: Select all


ANACORTES, Wash. — Two BNSF trains derailed in separate incidents in Arizona and Washington state on Thursday, with the latter spilling diesel fuel on tribal land along Puget Sound.

No injuries were reported. It wasn't clear what caused either derailment.

The derailment in Washington occurred on a berm along Padilla Bay, on the Swinomish tribal reservation near Anacortes. Most of 5,000 gallons (nearly 19,000 liters) of spilled diesel fuel leaked on the land side of the berm rather than toward the water, according to the state Ecology Department.

Officials said there were no indications the spill reached the water or affected any wildlife.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2023/03/17/11641443 ... d-tribal-l
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