Thursday, August 21, 2014

There are no “accidents”

The Lac Mégantic oil train derailment in Quebec, Canada that killed 47 people and nearly destroyed a small town was caused by a series of government and industry failures, according to an investigation. Some of the people killed could be identified only by DNA testing. The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada concluded that the now-defunct Maine, Montreal & Atlantic (MMA) Railway "was a company with a weak safety culture," which government regulators Transport Canada had repeatedly failed to audit and address. It was a company that they knew it was cutting corners on safety despite the fact it that was carrying increasing amounts of hazardous cargo.

Keith Stewart, Greenpeace Canada’s Climate and Energy Campaign coordinator, said “It is time for the federal government to finally put community safety ahead of oil and rail company profits or we will see more tragedies.

 Maine, Montreal & Atlantic Railway had cut corners both in employee training and in addressing maintenance issues with the locomotive, which led to a situation where an aging engine was left running improperly braked and unattended on a hill seven miles above the ill-fated town. Further, the Class 111 tank cars did not meet the enhanced safety standards to transport flammable liquids and the Bakken crude oil being transported was improperly identified by the carrier.

The report notes that additionally jeopardizing the train was the reliance on a single-person crew, which MMA and the rail lobby—the Railway Association of Canada—pushed for and won despite reservations expressed by Transport Canada.

 Transport Canada "did not provide adequate regulatory oversight" and was too reliant on MMA's purported Safety Management System and thus failed to properly audit their operations to ensure that they had a functioning safety plan.

Though many have demanded that the railroad executives be held responsible for the 47 deaths, the only individuals who have been charged thus far are three lowly MMA employees: Thomas Harding, the train conductor; Jean Demaître, manager of train operations; and Richard Labrie, traffic controller. They are being charged with criminal negligence and face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Observers note that since that crash and deadly explosion little has changed regarding the regulation of oil trains operating in the U.S. and Canada.

Public and worker safety was trumped as usual  by corporate profits.

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