Questioning Whitefish's emergency readiness
As I cross the viaduct, I can’t help but notice the increase in crude oil tank cars laying in wait at the BNSF rail yard less than 100 yards from a busy downtown.
Also, local papers have been bringing some attention to the increasing tank car traffic to come. I spent 17 years with Exxon shipping on both crude oil and refined product tankers and worked through the multitudes of changes brought to that industry by the Department of Transportation and U.S. Coast Guard for the safe transport of oil cargo. Few of these changes came without a disaster triggering them.
I have a couple questions for you regarding this situation and hopefully you can answer them for me.
1. What firefighting capability does Whitefish and BNSF have at ready hand to battle a crude oil fire? Foam storage with accompanying dispersal system at the rail yard as in foam monitors and hose stations that can reach the scene? Foam pump trucks at the ready as at major airports?
2. Have empty tank cars returning to the Bakken been certified “gas free”, vented and monitored to remain gas free or are they filled with inert gas at discharge to maintain less than 8% O2 levels and monitored as remaining so?
3. What firefighting personal and training of such does BNSF maintain on site at the rail yard?
4. What crude oil firefighting training does the Whitefish Fire Department engage in? Not just the “jerk and squirt” demonstration on a bucket of oil, but real life scenario putting out multiple tank cars on fire?
5. What static accumulating prevention do these tank cars have? Grounded? Checked and verified how often and by who? On oil tankers our biggest fears were lightning and static. Something as simple as a poly rope twisting, or some synthetic clothing can generate enough static to blow in an explosive atmosphere.
A couple of questions you may or may not know the answers to.
I have noticed that Montana and North Dakota have no state regulations regarding safe transport of these products by rail and I really don’t believe that the DOT is capable of making any since they are headed by political appointees. Since the advent of the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard is no longer part of the Department of Transportation and their knowledge gone with them.
As for BNSF, safety first unless it costs money. They maintain that they have a 99 percent of no accidents. Exxon bragged the same way until March 24, 1989 when the Exxon Valdez ran aground and a disaster followed.
The Whitefish Fire Dept. is a group of people to be proud of, but if something goes wrong, lives could be lost to a situation that was preventable.
— Kurt Lewis