As a follow up to my prior post of March 6, 2014, here is the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) agenda for the April 22-23, 2014 Rail Safety Forum on Transportation of Crude Oil and Ethanol by rail.
The public meeting will be held at NTSB's Washington HQ and will also be available via webcast. Speaking at the meeting will be researchers, crude oil and ethanol shippers, tank car builders, rail carriers, emergency responders, and federal regulators. The presentations will cover current and proposed safety initiatives, including attempts to reduce the consequences of accidents involving crude and ethanol via tank car design, operating practices, and emergency preparedness.
Showing posts with label ethanol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ethanol. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Thursday, March 8, 2012
NTSB Issues Rail Safety Recommendations Following 2009 Ethanol Derailment
On March 2, 2012, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), issued 15 Rail Safety recommendations related to the June 19, 2009 CN derailment in Cherry Valley, Illinois. In the accident,13 of the 19 derailed ethanol tank cars were breached and caught fire, causing one fatality and several injuries.
The Board had previously determined the probable cause of the derailment was a washout of the track structure discovered before the arrival of the train which derailed. The Board's recommendations range from advising railroads and public entities to assess trackside stormwater drainage, to tank car integrity and crashworthiness improvements.
Among the recommendations related to rail tank cars, are the Board's recommendations that existing DOT-111 tank cars carrying ethanol be retrofitted to improve shell puncture resistance and prevent exposed valve fittings from opening in an accident. (R12-6 - R12-8).
The call to retrofit some 40,000 in service tank cars carrying ethanol is likely to be controversial, given the conservative estimate of the Railway Supply Institute of the retrofitting to be $1 billion dollars.
The Recommendations, which are not mandatory, are attached here:
R-12-1 & 2
R-12-3 and 4, reiteration of R-07-2
R-12-5 through 8, reiteration of R-07-4
R-12-9
R-12-10
R-12-11
R-12-12 through 15
The Board had previously determined the probable cause of the derailment was a washout of the track structure discovered before the arrival of the train which derailed. The Board's recommendations range from advising railroads and public entities to assess trackside stormwater drainage, to tank car integrity and crashworthiness improvements.
Among the recommendations related to rail tank cars, are the Board's recommendations that existing DOT-111 tank cars carrying ethanol be retrofitted to improve shell puncture resistance and prevent exposed valve fittings from opening in an accident. (R12-6 - R12-8).
The call to retrofit some 40,000 in service tank cars carrying ethanol is likely to be controversial, given the conservative estimate of the Railway Supply Institute of the retrofitting to be $1 billion dollars.
The Recommendations, which are not mandatory, are attached here:
R-12-1 & 2
R-12-3 and 4, reiteration of R-07-2
R-12-5 through 8, reiteration of R-07-4
R-12-9
R-12-10
R-12-11
R-12-12 through 15
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