Story Update: Lac Megantic Train Was Carrying Mislabeled Oil. Officials Say 15 dead, 50 missing

[The Straight Story]

Lac Megantic Train Was Carrying Mislabeled Oil, Officials Say

Canadian officials say the oil carried by the train that derailed in July in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, flattening the town center and killing 47 people, was mislabeled as being less volatile than it actually was.

In a press release Wednesday morning, Canada's Transportation Safety Board said it had analyzed oil from a part of the 72-car train that didn't explode and found it had the characteristics of a Packing Group II product. However, the oil -- which came from North Dakota -- had been labeled as a Packing Group III product when it was loaded onto the train.

While both groups are considered "dangerous goods," Packing Group II includes liquids like gasoline that explode at a lower temperature than Packing Group III.

The fact the oil was mislabeled "explains in part why the crude ignited so quickly once the train cars were breached," the Transportation Safety Board statement said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/12/lac-megantic-train-mislabeled-oil_n_3909175.html

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, The Straight Story.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. The rate we are going

we don't have to worry about "foreign" attacks....we are doing a pretty good job of destroying our own country..
Fertilizer plants blowing up, bridges collapsing, houses exploding from gas main leaks.( a LOT of that has been happing last couple of months)
..and other various fall-down-and -go-boom incidents.
Plus the incredible number of forest fires and flooding this summer..

[Barack_America]

3. Horrific tragedy. Deserves far more coverage. Nt

[laundry_queen]

4. K&R

So much indifference in the industry to these dangerous goods. I don't get it. My ex used to transport drums of chemical in a pick up for his job and he often got stopped. He didn't dare mislabel anything, as it meant HUGE fines and possible loss of his job. Apparently transporting dangerous goods on a highway is way more regulated than transporting it by rail. Probably explains the increase in rail transportation of oil.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

8. Agree

I used to have to transport chemicals all the time too, and I kept everything up to code, because being pulled over by the Ministry of Environment was a frequent occurrence, and being cited would be crippling to my small business. In terms of scale, fines for big business are not a deterrent.

[robinlynne]

5. we do so well without regulation, don't we?

[ReRe]

6. 72 cars of volitile mislabeled crude...

... headed downhill. What could go wrong?

A "perfect storm" 21st century disaster. I certainly wouldn't think of pointing the finger at the firemen, though.

[pinboy3niner]

7. Carried in old, unretrofitted tank cars

Tank car design may not have made a difference in this derailment because of the speed and vioence of the crash, but it does raise questions about standards for tank cars that may be involved in less-severe accidents, especially with the increased transport of these products. This should give more impetus and urgency to new tank car regs that are already in the rulemaking process in the U.S.

[TeamPooka]

9. Fuck you Big Oil. nt