Union Pacific Railroad rerouted some trains to BNSF Railway lines on the Washington side of the Columbia River following the disaster in Mosier.
Advertisement
Containment booms have been placed around an oil slick on the surface of the Columbia River Saturday, June 4, 2016, after an oil tanker train derailed and burned near Mosier, Ore., Friday, June 3, 2016.
At a news conference earlier in the day, Espinoza said a failure of the fastener between the railroad tie and the line was the likely cause of the problem, but more investigation will be required before railroad officials know for sure.
Jacobs didn’t specify exactly how many oil trains Union Pacific typically moved through the region.
Ecology officials from Washington state said there was no sign of oil in the Columbia River or Rock Creek.
From The Dalles, the oil – which had started in New Town, North Dakota – will be brought to its original destination of Tacoma, Washington.
Officials with Union Pacific says its findings are preliminary. Each truck carries about 5,000 gallons of oil.
Mosier has about 400 residents, but these oil trains aren’t only going through rural areas and small towns.
The derailment, in the scenic Columbia River Gorge, manifested the fears of environmentalists who have long argued against shipping oil by rail – especially through populated areas or along a river that’s a hub of recreation and commerce.
A train hauling Bakken crude derailed in rural OR on Friday, sparking a fire and shutting down a nearby water treatment plant.
The city is now fighting to stop oil trains running through their town.
Protesters gathered after Mosier oil-train explosion.
Brown said she is pressing the Federal Railroad Administration to step up safety. Vancouver is considering a similar ban.
Mosier is among dozens of communities that have officially called for stronger federal safety measures and other actions because of increasing oil train shipments through the Northwest.
Including Friday’s incident, at least 26 oil trains have been involved in major fires or derailments during the past decade in the USA and Canada, according to an Associated Press analysis of accident records from the two countries.
“Federal emergency response guidance and fire chiefs have long recognized that there is no effective emergency response to a crude oil derailment fire event”, writes Krogh.
Advertisement
“The media has been saying this incident is ‘near Mosier, ‘” he said.
