Yet Another Oil Bomb Train Explosion
Marks Fourth Derailment in Four Weeks
Once again this weekend, we saw scenes of tanker cars
strewn across the landscape on their sides emitting
huge billows of smoke and fire. On Saturday a 94-car
train carrying Alberta tar sands oil derailed two miles
outside Gogama, Ontario, with at least 35 cars going
off the rails and at least seven igniting. Five cars
landed in the Makami River, prompting a warning
to residents not to drink the water as well as to stay
inside to avoid possible toxic effects from the fire.
strewn across the landscape on their sides emitting
huge billows of smoke and fire. On Saturday a 94-car
train carrying Alberta tar sands oil derailed two miles
outside Gogama, Ontario, with at least 35 cars going
off the rails and at least seven igniting. Five cars
landed in the Makami River, prompting a warning
to residents not to drink the water as well as to stay
inside to avoid possible toxic effects from the fire.
It follows fiery derailments of the so-called oil bomb trains
carrying volatile crude oil that have occurred in Illinois,
West Virginia and Ontario since the beginning of the year.
In each of those cases, only about half a dozen cars derailed,
making the Gogama derailment the biggest so far this year.
carrying volatile crude oil that have occurred in Illinois,
West Virginia and Ontario since the beginning of the year.
In each of those cases, only about half a dozen cars derailed,
making the Gogama derailment the biggest so far this year.
Gogama is about 60 miles north of the remote, unpopulated
area outside Timmins, Ontario where
a derailment occurred Feb. 14. And while Gogama itself is
remote, it’s not unpopulated: the town has almost 400
residents and the nearby Mattagami First Nation
community, and it’s a major center of outdoor tourism.
The tracks the train was traveling go through the town,
raising the specter of another tragedy like the one that
killed 47 people and leveled much of the town of
Lac-Mégantic, Quebec in July 2013.
area outside Timmins, Ontario where
a derailment occurred Feb. 14. And while Gogama itself is
remote, it’s not unpopulated: the town has almost 400
residents and the nearby Mattagami First Nation
community, and it’s a major center of outdoor tourism.
The tracks the train was traveling go through the town,
raising the specter of another tragedy like the one that
killed 47 people and leveled much of the town of
Lac-Mégantic, Quebec in July 2013.
“It’s frightening and nerve-wracking, especially after
what happened in Quebec,” Roxanne Veronneau,
owner of the Gogama Village Inn,
told the Toronto Star. “People here are on pins and
needles. The tracks run right through town. I’m sure
that there’s going to be a lot of talk afterward that this
shouldn’t be in the middle of our town.”
Mattagami chief Walter Naveau
told northern Ontario news outlet Village Media that he
had met with representatives from CN, the company
whose train derailed and wasn’t comfortable with
their reassurances.
“They’re saying it’s okay, and yet why are some of my
band members feeling it in their chests and tasting it
in their mouths?” said Naveau. “I’m very angry at CN
right now, to put it mildly.”
band members feeling it in their chests and tasting it
in their mouths?” said Naveau. “I’m very angry at CN
right now, to put it mildly.”
He said he was concerned about the potential impact of
oil spilling into the river. “The water is coming our way
and that’s going to harm our fish habitat and tourist
habitat,” he said.
oil spilling into the river. “The water is coming our way
and that’s going to harm our fish habitat and tourist
habitat,” he said.
“Anywhere you’re going to see a major spill of oil and
chemicals onto the ground you’re going to see
permanent contamination of the ecosystem nearby,”
Adam Scott, climate and energy program manager
for Canadian nonprofit advocacy group
Environmental Defence, told Canada’s National Post.
“They almost never are able to clean up all of the oil
released in a spill like this and it’s much worse even
when there’s a direct spill into a river because the oil
gets moved down the river and the chemicals can
spread.
Each derailment suggests we’re a little closer to
another Lac-Mégantic—or worse.
A recent study from the Center for Biological Diversity
called Runaway Risks found that, with the 40-fold
increase in rail cars carrying oil since 2008, 25 million
people now live within a mile of tracks carrying these
dangerous trains.
called Runaway Risks found that, with the 40-fold
increase in rail cars carrying oil since 2008, 25 million
people now live within a mile of tracks carrying these
dangerous trains.
“Before one more derailment, fire, oil spill and one more
life lost, we need a moratorium on oil trains and we need
it now,” said Center for Biological Diversity senior scientist
Mollie Matteson. “The oil and railroad industries are
playing Russian roulette with people’s lives and our
environment, and the Obama administration needs to
put a stop to it. Today we have another oil train wreck
in Canada, while the derailed oil train in Illinois is still
smoldering. Where’s it going to happen next? Chicago?
Seattle? The Obama administration has the power to
put an end to this madness and it needs to act now
because quite literally, people’s lives are on the line.”
While both Transport Canada and the U.S. life lost, we need a moratorium on oil trains and we need
it now,” said Center for Biological Diversity senior scientist
Mollie Matteson. “The oil and railroad industries are
playing Russian roulette with people’s lives and our
environment, and the Obama administration needs to
put a stop to it. Today we have another oil train wreck
in Canada, while the derailed oil train in Illinois is still
smoldering. Where’s it going to happen next? Chicago?
Seattle? The Obama administration has the power to
put an end to this madness and it needs to act now
because quite literally, people’s lives are on the line.”
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have
proposed new safety regulations for oil trains,
including phasing out the old puncture-prone
DOT-111 oil tankers, many of the recent
derailment fires, including the one in Gogama,
involved the new and supposedly safer CPC 1232
cars. And the industry is lobbying for a longer
time frame in which to phase out the old cars.
compliant with the latest federal regulations,
yet they still failed to prevent this incident,”
said Glenn Thibeault, who represents the
Gogama area in the Ontario legislature.
“It’s basically guaranteed to happen again; this is
not an isolated incident,” Scott told The Star.
“So until something dramatic is done, we’re going
to see this continuing over and over again.”
not an isolated incident,” Scott told The Star.
“So until something dramatic is done, we’re going
to see this continuing over and over again.”
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