Railroad union members in Minnesota say BNSF Railway trains are hauling hazardous waste materials that are not listed on the train's cargo list, which violates federal regulations and puts communities at risk because emergency personnel responding to an accident would not be fully informed of the dangers involved, Dan Gunderson reports for Minnesota Public Radio. At least 18 times over the past three years trains left Minneapolis with hazardous cargo not listed on the manifest, train crews said in complaints filed with the Federal Railroad Administration.
"In one case, a train traveled more than 20 miles through the western
suburbs with six carloads of anhydrous ammonia, a toxic corrosive gas
used as a farm fertilizer, before the train crew knew the chemical was
on the train, a complaint said," Gunderson writes. "In another, a complaint said a train
traveled about 90 miles west to Willmar before its cargo list was corrected to show an extra car of ammonia." (MPR map)
Dave
Christianson, senior rail planner for the Minnesota Department of Transportation calls the train manifest "the Bible" for first responders, Gunderson writes. He told Gunderson that an inaccurate manifest
"basically nullifies any preparation
that has ever been done to protect the public and to respond to a
catastrophic incident. That document is the key to how emergency
responders react to the accident." (Read more)
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