Riverkeeper Produces White Paper: Crude-by-rail in Oregon: 2012–2016

Crude-by-rail in Oregon: 2012-2016

(March 2016) -- Check out our newest white paper, "Crude-by-rail in Oregon: 2012–2016," which describes oil train traffic in Oregon over the past four years and Oregon's level of preparedness for a fire or explosion caused by an oil train derailment. Read it online today.

 

 

 

 

Oregon’s rail lines connect North America’s crude oil deposits to U.S. and potentially international oil refineries. During the last decade, high international oil prices and new extraction technologies sparked a renaissance in North American crude oil production. Without pipelines to bring these new crudes to ports and refineries, crude-by-rail boomed.

But crude-by-rail accidents have occurred with disconcerting regularity across North America, and the resulting fires and explosions overwhelmed local first responders. Oil train disasters in Quebec, North Dakota, Alabama, Virginia, and elsewhere raised concerns about the ability of Oregon firefighters to combat an oil train fire.

 

Interested in learning more? Resources from the white paper: