Half a Million California Students Attend School In Oil Train Blast Evacuation Zones

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A new analysis by the Center for Biological Diversity finds that 500,000 students in California attend schools within a half-mile of rail tracks used by oil trains, and more than another 500,000 are within a mile of theย tracks.

โ€œRailroad disasters shouldnโ€™t be one of the โ€˜three Rsโ€™ on the minds of California school kids and their parents,โ€ said Valerie Love with the Center. โ€œOil trains have jumped the tracks and exploded in communities across the country. These dangerous bomb trains donโ€™t belong anywhere near Californiaโ€™s schools or ourย children.โ€

Current safety regulations for first responders dealing with oil trains recommend evacuating everyone within a half-mile of any incident with an oil train. This wasnโ€™t much of a problem for the most recent oil train accident in July in Culbertson, Montana because there were only 30 people within the half-mile radius area. However, in populated areas like California, potential scenarios could involve large-scale evacuations andย casualties.

In addition to the threat posed to Californiaโ€™s students, the report Crude Injustice on the Rails released earlier this year by ForestEthics and Communities for a Better Environment, pointed out that in California the communities within the half-mile blast zones were also more likely to be low-income minorityย neighborhoods.

As more communities across the country become aware of the very real risks these oil trains pose, opposition is mounting to new oil-by-rail projects as well as challenges to existingย facilities.

This past week in California, the Santa Clara County board of supervisors voted to keep oil trains out, citing an โ€œunacceptable risk to ourย community.โ€

In Minnesota, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) held a hearing on the subject and heard from concerned residents like Catherine Dorr, as reported by the local CBS station.

โ€œWeโ€™re in the 100 foot blast zone,โ€ Dorr said. โ€œMy house and 60 townhouse residents are going to be toast if thereโ€™s anย explosion.โ€

In Albany, New York which is the largest oil-by-rail hub on the East coast, this week a coalition of groups announced their intentions to sue the oil company transporting Bakken crude through Albany and challenge the validity of the air quality permit the company received inย 2012.

And even in remote places like North Dakota, where much of the oil originates, the U.S. military is concerned about the proximity of the oil train tracks to nuclear missileย facilities.

With all of this concern about the dangers of oil trains, a new report by the Associated Press (AP) paints a troubling picture about the preparedness of populated areas to respond to an oil-by-rail incident. The report was based on interviews with emergency management professionals in 12 large cities across the U.S.

It concludes, โ€œThe responses show emergency planning remains a work in progress even as crude has become one of the nation’s most common hazardous materials transported byย rail.โ€

As noted on DeSmog, one of the reasons that the oil trains pose such a high risk is that the oil industry refuses to stabilize the oil to make it safe to transport. And the new regulations for oil-by-rail transport released this year allow for older unsafe tank cars to be used for another 8-10ย years.

While the regulations require modernized braking systems on oil trains in future years, the rail industry is fighting this and a Senate committee recently voted to remove this from theย regulations.

The reality is that unless there are drastic changes made, anyone living within a half mile of these tracks will be at risk for years toย come.

And while oil production isnโ€™t increasing in the U.S. right now due to the low price of oil, industry efforts to lift the current ban on exporting crude oil could result in a huge increase in fracked oil production. In turn, that oil will be put on trains that will head to coastal facilities and be loaded on tankers and sent toย Asia.

Despite all of the opposition and the years-long process to complete new regulations, as the Associated Press notes, it isnโ€™t like the emergency first responders are comfortable with the currentย situation.

โ€œThere could be a huge loss of life if we have a derailment, spill and fire next to a heavily populated area or event,โ€ said Wayne Senter, executive director of the Washington state association of fire chiefs. โ€œThat’s what keeps us up atย night.โ€

And even the federal regulators expect there are going to be catastrophic accidents. As reported by the AP earlier this year, the Department of Transportation expects oil and ethanol trains โ€œwill derail an average of 10 times a year over the next two decades, causing more than $4 billion in damage and possibly killing hundreds of people if an accident happens in a densely populated part of theย U.S.โ€

With the known risks and the number of accidents, so far communities in the U.S have avoided disaster. But as Senator Franken pointed out, that has just been a matter ofย luck.

โ€œWeโ€™ve been lucky here in Minnesota and North Dakota and Wisconsin that weโ€™ve not seen that kind of fatalities, but we donโ€™t want this to be all about luck,โ€ Sen. Frankenย said.

As over 1,000,000 students in California start a new school year in schools where they can easily hear the train whistles from the oil trains passing through their communities, letโ€™s all hope we keep this lucky streak going.ย 

Image credit: Justinย Mikulka

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Justin Mikulka is a research fellow at New Consensus. Prior to joining New Consensus in October 2021, Justin reported for DeSmog, where he began in 2014. Justin has a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University.

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