Hazardous freight moved by rail
By APSaturday, June 27, 2009
Hazardous freight moved by rail
AMOUNT OF CARGO: Around 1.7 million carloads of hazardous materials are transported each year on the 140,000-mile U.S. rail system. Trains are the primary means of moving the potentially deadly cargo around the country.
TYPES OF MATERIAL: Tankers often carry chlorine, which is widely used in purifying water, and anhydrous ammonia — used in fertilizers. Highly flammable ethanol is also increasingly common. Trains also haul radioactive substances, though that’s less common.
ACCIDENT RATES: In 2008, there were 21 train accidents where some material was released; that’s down around 80 percent since 1980, when there were 118. From 1994 to 2006, hazardous materials released in rail accidents killed a combined 14 people, nine of those in 2005.
BIGGEST DANGERS: Since they’re widely used and can vaporize so quickly, chlorine and anhydrous ammonia are considered among the biggest risks. Thousands of people could die if damaged chlorine tankers released a poisonous cloud over a city.
REGULATIONS: A push to mandate that railroads reroute trains carrying particularly dangerous cargo around big cities began after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But a much-debated rerouting rule, which some railroads opposed, was only implemented this year.
Sources: Association of American Railroads, Federal Railroad Administration.
