Community activists fighting to ban oil trains in Albany ALBANY — Trains full of crude oil regularly travel through downtown Albany. If one should ever explode, its impact could possibly be felt from the city’s railroad tracks near the Hudson River all the way to the state Capitol building. And CSEA Capital Region members are working with an Albany community group to stop this potential hazard by banning dangerous oil trains from traveling through the city. Raising public awareness Members from CSEA’s Capital Region Strong Communities Work committee joined People of Albany United for Safe Energy (PAUSE) for a rally at the governor’s mansion last year. PAUSE and CSEA’s Capital Region Occupational Safety and Health Committee are working on a panel presentation for the Capital Region’s Spring Conference in April. For more than a year, PAUSE has been trying to inform the public and legislators of the dangers of the current practice of transporting crude oil into the Port of Albany. When the oil arrives at the port it is transferred to train cars. The group is concerned about all aspects of the operations from the shipping to the port, the transfer at the port and the proximity to populated communities that the trains pass on their way out of town. Holding “ban the bomb trains” signs, PAUSE recently held another rally in front of the DEC building in downtown Albany. “How many of you have neighbors who own HAZMAT suits?” asked Albany County Legislator Alison McLean Lane at the rally. “Mine do.” McLean Lane described the spike in train traffic since the operations began. She said she can see the trains from her home and has counted as many as 150 tankers at a time speed by. Members of the group have cited analysis that a potential CSEA Occupational Safety and Health Specialist Gary China addresses the group and the media to voice concern for residents and employees in downtown Albany. blast in the port of Albany could extend through populated areas as far west as the Capitol. “We are concerned about the potential impact this could have on residents and employees in downtown Albany,” CSEA Occupational Safety and Health Specialist Gary China told reporters at the recent rally. Frightening realities PAUSE’s fears have become reality in other communities. In 2013, an oil train blast in Quebec “How many of you have neighbors who own HAZMAT suits? Mine do.” killed 47 people. And, in recent weeks, a train carrying 109 tankers of crude oil derailed in a snowstorm in West Virginia. Flames shot up destroying homes and forcing the evacuation of two towns. Witnesses said the explosions sounded “like a bomb went off.” The West Virginia National Guard was called in and a water treatment facility was shut down for fear of contamination from one of the tanker cars that fell into a river. There have been many other such fires involving oil-laden DOT111’s (tankers like those used at the Port of Albany). Federal officials are said to be considering a phase-out of the tankers, but that action, if taken, would not be complete until 2020. Meanwhile, PAUSE members and the CSEA supporters who have joined their coalition are left to keep the pressure on elected officials. For more information about PAUSE or to take action, visit www.pausenergy.org. — Therese Assalian For more information about PAUSE or to take action, visit www.pausenergy.org. Albany County Legislator Alison McLean Lane, right, discusses her concerns about the oil trains. March 2015 The Work Force 7
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