Daily BrewTSB rail safety recommendations are one thing, getting them implemented another
The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has made recommendations to increase safety in the movement of volatile crude oil but when, how or even if they'll be implemented depends on the federal government, the rail industry and shipping companies.
Regulators on both sides of the border were catalyzed into action because of a series of spectacular derailments and explosions involving thin-walled tank cars carrying explosive crude from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota.
The worst, at Lac-Megantic, Que., killed 47 people and razed the town's business district last July.
In what they called an unprecedented move, the TSB and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) jointly issued three "strong recommendations" to deal with the soaring volume of crude moving by rail.
"The greater risk of shipping increasingly more crude oil by rail across North America demands co-ordinated solutions," the TSB said in its announcement.
The TSB's U.S. counterpart noted crude shipments by rail have increased more than 400 per cent since 2005. In Canada, just 500 carloads of crude were shipped in 2009. By last year the total had reached 160,000 carloads. The comparative U.S figures were 10,800 in 2009 and 400,000 in 2013.
[ Related: TSB wants tougher standards for older rail tanker cars ]
"The large-scale shipment of crude oil by rail simply didn't exist 10 years ago, and our safety regulations need to catch up with this new reality," NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said in the agency's news release. "While this energy boom is good for business, the people and the environment along rail corridors must be protected from harm."
The recommendations involve toughening standards for all so-called DOT-111 tank cars, which are prone to rupturing even at low speeds, more planning in the routes taken by dangerous goods with a greater emphasis on safety, and provision for emergency response assistance on routes where large volumes of liquid hydrocarbons are shipped.
"The right resources must be in place to reduce the severity and impact of a spill or fire," the TSB said in its release.
“If North American railways are to carry more and more of these flammable liquids through our communities, it must be done safely,” said TSB chairwoman Wendy Tadros. “Change must come and it must come now.”
The recommendations – made jointly because the North American rail system is tightly interconnected – now go to Transport Canada in this country and the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to be implemented. That's where things could get dicey.
Tadros acknowledged it's up to Transport Canada to put the safety changes in place; the same with the NTSB and U.S. agencies. The safety watchdogs can only make recommendations, not orders, she told a news conference, according to CTV News.
“It is our responsibility, and that’s what we’ve done in our investigation, to identify the safety issues and bring forward the recommendations aimed at ameliorating those safety problems,” she said.
Upgrading the fleet of fragile tank cars could be a daunting challenge. Although a new generation of more robust liquid carriers is coming into use, there are still 92,000 DOT-111 tank cars in service, the Globe and Mail noted.
[ Related: CN Rail argued against emergency provision after Lac-Megantic ]
The cars are not owned by railways but by companies that lease them to shippers. The Globe noted railways have pushed regulators for years to get rid of the old cars against opposition from shipping and oil-industry lobby groups.
The Lac-Megantic disaster and other derailments in Canada and the U.S. likely will add impetus to the effort but no one has suggested a timetable for getting rid of the older DOT-111s.
"Change must come and it must come now," Tadros told the Ottawa news conference, according to CBC News. "A long phase-out simply isn't good enough."
Likewise, re-routing explosive types of crude oil and other flammable liquids could prove difficult since most railway main lines go through urban areas.
Federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt issued a statement Thursday reaffirming the government's commitment to improving rail safety, noting it's already required the industry to improve safety since Lac-Megantic and work more closely with municpalities to plan emergency responses.
"Transport Canada officials are reviewing the Transportation Safety Board’s recommendations," Raitt said. "The department is committed to doing all it can to maintain and enhance the safety of Canada's rail sector."
