CSX train carrying oil derails in Virginia, bursts into flames - Reuters

(Reuters) - A CSX Corp train carrying crude oil derailed and burst into flames in downtown Lynchburg, Virginia on Wednesday, spilling oil into the James River and forcing hundreds to evacuate.

In its second oil-train accident this year, CSX said 15 cars on a train traveling from Chicago to Virginia derailed at 2:30 p.m. EDT. Photos and video showed high flames and a large plume of black smoke. Officials said there were no injuries, but 300-350 people were evacuated in a half-mile radius.

City officials instructed motorists and pedestrians to stay away from downtown, while firefighters battled the blaze. Three railcars were still on fire as of 4 p.m., CSX said.

CSX train carrying oil derails in Virginia, bursts into flames - Reuters

It was only a few weeks ago or so that I posted this article. The following thread has background information on the issue of these oil trains.

Buffet - Moving Oil Safely by Rail a Major Industry Concern





So what are some corporations saying about oil spills? This coincidental article came out today as well.

Kinder Morgan has managed to find a silver lining in oil slicks: they could create jobs.

That's according to a 15,000 page application Kinder Morgan has submitted to the National Energy Board for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project (a document so large that it "stands over two metres tall and fills 37 binders").

In a section of the application dedicated to the risks and effects associated with oil tanker traffic and the possibility of oil spills, Kinder Morgan finds that "spills can have both positive and negative effects." In particular, "spill response and clean-up creates business and employment opportunities for affected communities, regions, and clean-up service providers."

Link

While I think that is an accurate assessment, I don't think that oil spills are overall good for the economy. Check out this link.

Wikipedia: Economic Effects of the Deepwater Oil Spill

Environmental Impact of the Deepwater Horizon Spill

a reply to: darkbake

Seen this on Facebook. I heard that it has began flowing into the river too.

Not good. I hope no one got hurt.

-SAP-

a reply to: darkbake

Are they deliberately attempting to poison the appalachian watershed in the east?

How much insurance money is the buffet organization going to pocket on this disaster?

a reply to: SloAnPainful

Yeah it is flowing into the river, there were no reports of injuries from the articles I have read. But the city had to switch to its emergency drinking water supply.

a reply to: Happy1

Well - sometimes the news media decides to focus on a certain type of event, maybe it is oil car spills now. I don't think that Berkshire Hathaway is directly involved in this, but they do sell rail cars at BNSF, which is owned by Buffet - and it would be in their interest to raise industry safety standards in order to require transport units to purchase new rail cars.

With more trains hauling crude and flammable liquids across North America, U.S. regulators are expected soon to propose new rules for more robust tank cars to replace older models; Canadian authorities did so last week.

"With this event, regulators could try to expedite the process, and they'll likely err on the side of the more costly safety requirements in order to reduce the risk of these accidents in the future," said Michael Cohen, vice president for research at Barclays in New York.

Tougher rules could drive up costs for firms that lease tank cars and ship oil from the remote Bakken shale of North Dakota, which relies heavily on trains. It could also boost business for companies that manufacture new cars, such as Greenbrier Companies and Trinity Industries.

And there is a connection - because of this event, the industry is likely to push for higher standards on rail cars, which would require purchases of new rail cars by transport companies from other companies that sell rail cars.

It is kind of ridiculous and symbolic of our corporate culture when disasters are seen as a source of profit. This is a very scary trend, to have no roots in any kind of morality.

I could see there being human casualties from events like this and corporations releasing news statements that they are excited for their shareholders due to rise in such-and-such prices.

Could be part of the plan for expanded pipe lines .They would claim it would create jobs and end up being safer .Truth would be the tax payers would foot the bill and the rail industry would cut the jobs the new pipe lines would eliminate .There is a big push here in Canada on upgrading the rail cars but the time factors don't match with the demand for the crude oil .

a reply to: the2ofusr1

The pipe lines have a lot of leaks, apparently - and I guess sometimes they go underground, underneath farmer's fields. One farmer found a foot-high geyser of oil in his field which ruined a lot of it.