By Kris Maher And Russell Gold
The crude-oil train that derailed and exploded in West Virginia
on Monday consisted of modern tanker cars the rail industry has
hailed as safe, ratcheting up the debate over proposed federal
rules that could require even stronger safeguards.
The derailment near Mount Carbon, a small community outside the
state capital of Charleston, launched fireballs into the sky, sent
crude into a river and fueled fires that were still burning
Tuesday.
One person was treated for possible respiratory problems and
released, according to CSX Corp., which operated the train, and one
home burned to the ground. Several hundred people were evacuated
and many were unable to return to their homes Tuesday. State
officials initially said at least one tanker car had fallen into
the Kanawha River, but Tuesday they said that no longer appeared to
be the case.
The amount of crude oil moving on the nation's railroads has
skyrocketed in recent years. In 2009, U.S. railroads transported
about 21,000 barrels of oil a day. Today they carry more than 50
times that amount, according to federal data, as fracking-fueled
oil production in North Dakota outpaced pipeline capacity and
trains became the easiest way to get crude to refineries.
At the same time, a spate of crude-oil explosions has frightened
people who live along tracks and caught the attention of
regulators. In the most serious incident, a train derailed in
Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, killing 47 people.
Federal regulators last year proposed rule changes to make
crude-oil transport by rail safer. The White House is considering
the changes, according to a Federal Railroad Administration
spokesman, and is expected to issue final rules in coming
months.
One proposed version of the rules required using the same
CPC-1232 tanker cars that exploded in West Virginia. Another
version would require a stronger tank car. Tank-car manufacturers
support requiring thicker shells and other protections, but the oil
industry worries that implementing changes too quickly could slow
the U.S. energy boom.
"We think we can reduce the magnitude of these incidents, in
part with a safer tank car," said Jack Isselmann, a senior vice
president of Greenbrier Cos., an Oregon-based tanker-car maker. But
he said orders were slow because leasing companies were waiting for
the final federal rule, expected to set standards for new tank cars
as well as a timetable for retrofits.
The train that derailed was traveling from North Dakota to
Yorktown, Va., a CSX spokesman said.
Most of the oil carried by rail originates in North Dakota, but
the exact routes aren't disclosed. Rail companies including CSX
have filed lawsuits to prevent states from publicizing them.
However, a Wall Street Journal analysis of state data created a
detailed picture of how crude oil moves through this new virtual
pipeline. The train that derailed came through Chicago, then headed
south through Ohio and into West Virginia. It was scheduled to
cross Virginia and deliver about 70,000 barrels of crude to a
terminal in Yorktown. In April, a CSX train on the same route
derailed in Lynchburg, Va.
Monday's derailment and explosions terrified local residents.
Morris Bounds Jr., a 44-year-old general contractor, said he was
sitting in his living room in Mount Carbon when he heard a series
of booms that shook the ground like an earthquake.
His father, who lives 400 yards away, called and frantically
told him a train had derailed next to his house.
Mr. Bounds hopped in his pickup truck and sped toward his
father's home. Before he got there, he saw his father running
barefoot through the snow. Behind him, flames were leaping from
spilled-over tanker cars, and his father's home was already
burning.
"It was like a horror movie trying to get to him," Mr. Bounds
said. "I had seen cars piled up and flames shooting through them.
He was just running for his life."
Mr. Bounds said he was relieved his mother wasn't in the house.
She is recovering from heart surgery and was readmitted to the
hospital with the flu, Mr. Bounds said, adding that he believed had
she been in the house, she would have died. He said she was glad to
be alive but upset at having lost all her possessions.
Within a minute or so of driving away, the two men saw the
tankers begin to explode, sending shock waves through the air and
huge balls of flames that rose against the mountains.
"Everything they owned was there," he said of his parents' home.
But, he added: "I got him out of there safely."
Write to Kris Maher at kris.maher@wsj.com and Russell Gold at
russell.gold@wsj.com
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