Residents near Mount Carbon, West Virginia, heard a “big boom” on Monday, an explosion so forceful that it resulted in a fireball hundreds of feet high and sounded like a massive bomb exploding. Days later, toppled tank cars from a derailed train carrying 3 million gallons of oil were still burning near the Kanawha River, and officials were still scrambling to protect local water supplies.
This latest oil train disaster was bad — but it could have been worse. Oil trains travel through areas that are more densely populated. In this case, no one died — unlike the dramatic 2013 accident that obliterated part of a Quebec town and killed 47 people. In addition, the cars that derailed in West Virginia exceeded government safety standards. So did the cars that toppled off their tracks in Lynchburg, Virginia, last year. More dangerous oil-car models rattle around the country every day.
Federal regulators should have mandated modernization years ago. But, until recently, so little oil traveled by rail that upgrades were not a priority. The amount of oil traveling by rail in the United States soared 40-fold between 2008 and 2012 — and doubled again in 2013. McClatchy Newspapers calculated last year that more oil spilled from oil trains in 2013 than in the previous 40 years combined.
Now government overseers are debating how high to set new standards and how long to give the industry to comply with them. Regulators should require cars that are safer than the ones that derailed in West Virginia. For example: Protective jackets would make cars less prone to puncture; ceramic thermal insulation would prevent fires outside train cars from heating sealed contents; upgraded valves would make oil release less likely in a derailment; shields would prevent cars from crumpling. Regulators can also demand that old oil cars be retrofitted. Though this might not offer as much protection as new equipment, it is a pragmatic way to repurpose existing infrastructure.
Federal overseers also should set an ambitious schedule to finish retrofitting and replacing old cars, and they should do so soon. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget is considering a proposal from the Transportation Department. Regulators should finish their review sooner rather than later.
The oil industry predictably is pushing for less stringent standards and longer timelines. Its lobbyists argue that only a tiny fraction of oil transported by rail ever spills or, worse, ignites. And raising transportation costs for oil companies operating in the United States could crimp domestic production at a time when crude oil prices are low.
These arguments should be rejected. Accidents have become too frequent and are potentially too catastrophic. It’s unfortunate that the safety of rail freight wasn’t improved earlier, but now that the business is booming, the country needs to catch up.
The above editorial appeared in Friday’s Washington Post.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
