Focus at Four: New federal rule requires railroads to disclose hazardous cargo
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – A new federal rule finalized yesterday now requires railroads to notify the public about hazardous chemicals after a derailment.
In the last year, the Brazos Valley has seen multiple derailments.
Allan Rutter with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute said that trains are required to have a hard copy list of commodities on board, but that does not always work during a derailment.
“That works generally, except when you had an incident where the train derailment actually damages the locomotives, in which maybe the crew is hurt or incapacitated,” he said.
This comes directly from an incident nearly a decade ago, and it is to benefit the first responders on the scene and ensure they have information to keep the community around the derailment safe.
“This new rule followed a recommendation from the National Transportation Safety Board concerning a 2005 derailment that happened in Mississippi in which crew members were killed. What ended up getting lost was any information about the train. It took almost five hours for first responders to gain some information on what actually was in the train. It was another 15 hours before the fire was contained” he said.
Rutter said with the technology available today, a phone call or even an app can help first responders understand what they are dealing with.
“All of this information is about providing first responders with accurate, timely and immediate access to complete information about what’s on the train. This new rule makes sure that railroads have that information. It’s accurate. It’s up to date. It’s real-time, and it’s electronically accessible,” he said.
