Can't see railroad tracks for tank cars. ignore testimony on rail decay
After Apr. 1978 hearings, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board recommended a speedup in retrofitting tank cars to meet Federal regulations requiring steel head shields, insulated steel jackets, and shelf couplers, despite testimony that derailments are caused by deteriorating railbeds and equipment. When the secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation proposed a speedup in retrofitting, he stated flatly that ''faulty rail tracks'' were the most frequent cause of 10,000 derailments in 1977 involving 500 tank cars transporting hazardous materials. Testimony given indicates that retrofits cost up to $13,000/car; that adding a 1400 lb steel plate at each end of a car not designed for such a weight is a problem; that repair facilities cannot handle 22,000 retrofits by 12/25/78; and that the cars are necessary for continuing supply of fertilizer and propane. Industry cannot design a wreck-proof car; the real need is to eliminate the cause of derailments, namely the unsafe railroad track. However, the actions taken leave the basic cause of derailment untouched.
- OSTI ID:
- 5068956
- Journal Information:
- Butane-Propane News; (United States), Vol. 10:6
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
42 ENGINEERING
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
RAIL TRANSPORT
TRANSPORT REGULATIONS
RAILROAD CARS
RETROFITTING
RAILWAYS
SAFETY ENGINEERING
ACCIDENTS
US DOT
ENGINEERING
LAND TRANSPORT
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
REGULATIONS
TRAINS
TRANSPORT
US ORGANIZATIONS
VEHICLES
022000* - Petroleum- Transport
Handling
& Storage
420205 - Engineering- Transport & Storage Facilities- (1980-)