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Vol. 80/No. 24 June 20, 2016
Oregon oil train crash highlights danger of smaller crew
Columbia Riverkeeper
Smoke billows from derailed train cars carrying volatile Bakken crude
oil June 3 a half mile from the center of town in Mosier, 70 miles east
of Portland, Oregon. Eleven cars from the 96-car Union Pacific train
jumped the track and four caught fire, forcing the evacuation of some
residents. The derailment occurred on relatively straight track while
the train was traveling within the speed limit. Such oil trains are
operated by a two-person crew.
Some 18 trains a day headed for Pacific seaports run along the Columbia
River through the area where the derailment occurred. “You are talking
about trains that are 98 per-cent hazardous material, operated with
crews that are half the size they used to be,” said Herb Krohn,
Washington state legislative director for the International Association
of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers.
— MAGGIE TROWE
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