Derailments, ruptures of new crude-oil tank cars raise safety concerns

Derailments, ruptures of new crude-oil tank cars raise safety concerns

Published 10 March 2015

Following a series of crude-oil train derailments in 2013 and early 2014, the Transportation Department proposed new rules for tank cars carrying crude. The rules suggest three main options for tank cars: railroads would use the improved CPC-1232 tank cars, develop stronger cars, or retrofit existing cars. Critics of the rail industry’s growing volume of crude-oil shipments note that four recent oil train derailments relied on CPC-1232 cars, therefore improvements to crude by rail shipments must extend beyond new tank cars.

Following a series of crude-oil train derailments in 2013 and early 2014, the Transportation Department proposed new rules for tank cars carrying crude. The rules suggest three main options for tank cars: railroads would use the improved CPC-1232 tank cars, develop stronger cars, or retrofit existing cars.
The Obama administration is reviewing the options and is expected to issue recommendations in May. Critics of the rail industry’s growing volume of crude-oil shipments note that four recent oil train derailments relied on CPC-1232 cars, therefore improvements to crude by rail shipments must extend beyond new tank cars. The CPC-1232 cars were introduced by the rail industry in 2011 as an upgrade to older models and were built with thicker shells and pressure-relief devices. According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), roughly 60,000 CPC-1232 tank cars are operating across North America, in addition to 100,000 of the older models.
“These new type of cars were supposed to be safer, but it’s obvious these cars are not good enough or safe enough,” said Claude Gravelle, a Canadian lawmaker who represents a northern Ontario area where two recent derailments occurred. The Wall Street Journal reports that one of the derailments occurred on Saturday near Gogama, Ontario, and by Monday, emergency workers were still trying to extinguish fires from the ninety-four car Canadian National Railway Co. train.
AAR spokesman Ed Greenberg said the industry “wants all tank cars carrying crude oil, including the CPC-1232, to be upgraded by retrofitting or taken out of service. Railroads share the public’s deep concern regarding the safe movement of crude oil by rail.”
Rail has been a fast and inexpensive way for oil companies to move increasing volumes of crude from North Dakota’s Bakken region to U.S. refineries. The alternative, which is to build new pipelines, is expensive and in February, President Barack Obama vetoed legislation to approve the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. As crude by rail shipments sore from just 21,200 barrels a day in 2009 to 1.04 million barrels a day by the end of 2014, regulators and municipalities have expressed concerns with safety. DOT has mandated lowered speed limits for oil trains, and beginning next month, North Dakota will require crude from the state to be treated to make the crude less combustible.
Cynthia Quarterman, a former director of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, said the recent incidents “confirm that the CPC-1232 just doesn’t cut it.” Improved tank cars are not enough to reduce the risk posed by crude by rail. “The crashworthiness of the tank cars does need to be raised, but that’s not enough. There needs to be a comprehensive solution, including better brakes to help minimize pileups,” she said.
Sarah Feinberg, the acting Federal Railroad Administrator, agrees, saying “This situation calls for an all-of-the-above approach — one that addresses the product itself, the tank car it is being carried in, and the way the train is being operated.”