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Mile-long trains of tank cars carrying oil will likely be moving through the East Bay, including Fremont -- unless we do something about it. These are the same sort of trains and tank cars that exploded in a fiery crash in Lac Mégantic, Quebec, in July 2013.
When the 63 tank cars exploded, they engulfed Lac Megantic in a firestorm. The burning oil incinerated the downtown, rendering some of it uninhabitable. No one would imagine allowing such a tragedy to repeat, not here, not anywhere. Yet by downplaying the dangers posed by the crude-oil trains soon to rumble through the East Bay, state officials are increasing the likelihood of a catastrophe here.
These oil trains are becoming bigger and more common. Many pull a hundred tank cars and run a mile long. Worse, most of the tank cars are old, defective, and prone to rupture, yet most will carry highly flammable crude oil. Here in the Tri-Cities, we could wake up to the wail of sirens as first responders race toward boiling balls of fire.
When the 63 tank cars exploded, they engulfed Lac Megantic in a firestorm. The burning oil incinerated the downtown, rendering some of it uninhabitable. No one would imagine allowing such a tragedy to repeat, not here, not anywhere. Yet by downplaying the dangers posed by the crude-oil trains soon to rumble through the East Bay, state officials are increasing the likelihood of a catastrophe here.
These oil trains are becoming bigger and more common. Many pull a hundred tank cars and run a mile long. Worse, most of the tank cars are old, defective, and prone to rupture, yet most will carry highly flammable crude oil. Here in the Tri-Cities, we could wake up to the wail of sirens as first responders race toward boiling balls of fire.