From: nilknocgeo@earthlink.net

"Adam H. Kerman"  wrote in message
news:lim29g$eb4$1@news.albasani.net...
> conklin  wrote:
>
>>The New York Times has a front page article on hazardous material
>>transport
>>by railroads.
>
> I got past the pay wall with two extra steps.
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/16/business/despite-spills-haza
ds-ride-the-rails-in-secret.html
>
>>It seems that when local officials tried to look into a
>>derailment in Westford, MA, they were threatened with arrest.
>
> So what? The town manager and fire chief would have told the police that
> they were there to investigate the incident and determine what local
> emergency response was necessary, and wouldn't have been arrested. Any
> company official can make a police report for trespass, but that doesn't
> mean
> someone would have been arrested. If you don't want to be intimidated,
> don't
> let yourself be intimidated.
>
> It's not like these two people wouldn't have been known to their own
> police department.
>
>>Federal laws shield railroads from almost any supervision.  Yet, if
>>an accident takes place, railroads must rely on local hazardous waste
>>personnel.  It seems that they supply some local officals secret lists
>>of hazardous materials.  How that works seems unclear, but the public
>>does not know.  Also, routes are kept secret too.  And those tin can
>>rail cars will be in use basically forever.  Arresting local mayors who
>>look in on accidents seems to be legal.  They could also arrest local
>>hazrdous material teams too.
>
> Now you're just making shit up. Thanks, George, for making an effort to
> start a decent discussion.
>

Railroad officials said they provide local emergency responders with a list
of the 25 most hazardous commodities transported through their communities.
But the recipients must sign an agreement to restrict the information to
"bona fide emergency planning and response organizations for the expressed
purpose of emergency and contingency planning," a constraint that precludes
them from making the information public.




> I would like to know exactly what you think local officials should have
> done
> once it became apparent that the train could be re-railed and there was
> no leak or spill.

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