WASHINGTON – Trains carrying volatile crude oil continue to pass
up and down the Hudson River. U.S. Senator Charles Schumer is calling
on federal regulators to issue an emergency order requiring oil companies
to stabilize the highly flammable Bakken crude before shipping it through
New York.
He made the announcement during a brief conference call today.
Schumer said the wealthy oil and rail companies can afford a relatively
simple technology to make the oil safer.
“By heating it and forcing out some of the more volatile gases and
lowering the vapor pressure in the oil, so before it goes into the rail
cars, it would be more stable and less hazardous.”
The senator noted there is no rule requiring that.
“So today I’m announcing that I’m calling on the federal
Department of Transportation to immediately issue an emergency order that
would for the first time set a federal standard for volatility.”
Schumer said they have had success in getting older unsafe tank cars
off the rails and this is a logical next step.
