Name: JJ
E-mail:
Employed as: Other, non-employee, for N/A
Posted: 02 December 2012
GASSED AT PAULSBORO:
PAULSBORO, N.J. (AP) DEC. 1, 2012 — A signal may have malfunctioned on
a southern New Jersey bridge where a train derailed, causing a
hazardous chemical to spew into the air and leading to health problems,
an evacuation, tricky cleanup decisions and BROADER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE
CONDITION OF RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE. (B-U-S-T-E-D)!
No serious injuries were reported in the Friday morning accident. But
the U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday night that the evacuation of 12 city
blocks near the Mantua Creek site would remain in effect as a
precaution. Teams also were monitoring the air quality and collecting
water samples, the Coast Guard said. (IT'S OK FOLKS, JUST YOUR
FRIENDLY U.S. COAST GUARD....NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT MASS EVACUATION OR
SUPER HIGH TOXIC POISONOUS GASSES ESCAPING INTO THE ATMOSPHERE AND
TURNING YOUR COMMUNITY INTO AUSCHWITZ. ).
National Transportation Safety Board chairman Deborah Hersman said the
crew on the train told investigators that when they approached the
Mantua Creek bridge before 7 a.m. Friday, the signal light was red,
telling them not to cross. She said the crew found it unusual to get a
red light at that hour of the day. (HINT: R-E-D L-I-G-H-T = STOP, DO
NOT CROSS).
They used a radio signal to try to change the signal to green, but it
did not work, Hersman said. She said the conductor got off the train
and inspected the aging bridge. When it appeared to be OK, she said,
the engineer called for — and received — permission from a dispatcher
to go through the red light and cross the bridge. (TRANSLATION: THE
CONDUCTOR GOT OFF THE TRAIN AND TOOK A LEAK. THE DISPATCHER IS AN IDIOT
WHO WAS PROBABLY TEXTING HIS GIRLFRIEND).
Only the two locomotives and the first five cars on the southbound
train got across the bridge before seven cars derailed. Hersman said
the engine was moving 8 mph before the accident — under the 10 mph
speed limit. (UMMMM, DOES THE SPEED REALLY MATTER -OR, PERHAPS, ITS THE
WEIGHT OF LOADED TANK CARS AND A CRUMBLING BRIDGE?)
Hersman said investigators were trying to determine whether other train
crews had had the same signal issue lately and whether the signal
problems had anything to do with the accident. (I.E. DOES CSX HAVE ANY
'GROSS NEGLIGENCE" LIABILITY. DUH.).
Four of the derailed cars, including three that ended up partially in
the creek, contained vinyl chloride, an ingredient in the common
plastic PVC. A gas, vinyl chloride can induce respiratory problems,
dizziness and other health effects after short-term exposure — and
liver problems and other complications after high levels of exposure
over time. (IN OTHER WORDS, ANYONE LIVING IN A 10 BLOCK RADIUS WILL END
UP WITH CANCER).
The accident ripped a hole inside one of the tankers, causing the gas
to escape. (YUP, THAT' GENERALLY WHAT HAPPENS....).
More than 70 people went to an emergency room Friday, none of them with
life-threatening injuries. (THAT IS, NONE HAVE DIED....YET. )
A handful of nearby homes were evacuated Friday; some residents were
allowed to return hours later after some of the chemical dissipated
into the air and the rest turned into a solid and settled back into the
tanker. But Friday evening, residents in the 12 blocks near the site
were ordered evacuated. (WHOA THERE NELLY. HOW DOES TOXIC GAS SUDDENLY
"RETURN" TO A TANKER WITH A GAPING HOLE IN IT?)
State Assemblyman John Burzichelli, a former Paulsboro mayor serving as
an emergency management spokesman, said the chemical levels spiked as
the temperatures dropped and the breeze died down Friday evening so
that gas escaping the tanker lingered nearby longer. (POLITICIAN
SCORING POINTS WITH THE PUBLIC)
Conrail, the owner of the tracks, put up residents in 106 hotel rooms
Friday night. And the Coast Guard said Conrail will again open a center
in the Paulsboro Fire Department to help people affected by the
accident.(CONRAIL?? HUH? CSX IS THE OWNER, NOT CONRAIL.)
Residents said they were told to be ready to stay away from their homes
for three days, and possibly longer. (WAIT A MINUTE. THOUGHT THEY SAID
THAT ALL THE GAS SOMEHOW MYSTERIOUSLY RETURNED TO THE TANK CARS?)
Some said they had tough nights away from pets, who were taken to an
animal shelter. Others were frustrated with the late call to get out
and not having much time to pack. (COORDINATED GOVERNMENT EVACUATION.
HURRY UP AND WAIT, THEN WE SHOOT YOU OUT OF A CANNON).
"We were not told until they knocked on our door," said Diamond
Veney, who was holding her sleeping 1-year-old son, Tamir. (KNOCK
KNOCK. UM, EXCUSE ME MAM' BUT YOUR SURROUNDED BY DEADLY LEATHEL
KILLER GAS THAT WILL KILL YOU IN 60 SECONDS. BUT DO NOT BE ALARMED. CSX
HAS EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL WITH THEIR CONTINGENCY PLANS AND
EVERYTHING. TRUST US. ).
She said her family was given just 30 minutes to get out Friday
evening. (OH, BUT WAIT. WHAT HAPPEN TO THE COAST GUARD TELLING
EVERYONE THAT EVERYTHING IS UNDER CONTROL? WHOSE ON FIRST?).
Many of the displaced residents were being moved from hotel to hotel on
Saturday. For some, the shift meant heading to a place that accepts
pets. (YEAH, THOSE RAILROAD ROACH MOTELS ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE).
On Saturday, crews moved some of the train cars around and brought in
empty tankers to be used to store vinyl chlorine. (TRANSLATION, THEY
EMPTIED THE TANK CARS INTO THE CREEK, SO THAT THEY COULD LIFT THEM WITH
CRANES. ).
The NTSB's Hersman said investigators normally spend about a week
documenting sites of accidents like this one. But she said it could
take longer in this case because they will not go back to the site
until it's declared safe. It was not clear when that may happen.
(TRANSLATION: THIS IS ONE BIG ASS MESS AND WE GOT NO WAY TO CONTAIN
IT.)
Meanwhile, NTSB staff members were focusing on records review, witness
interviews and other tasks that do not require being on site. She said
the board is also pursuing details of how the bridge was rebuilt after
a coal train derailed there in 2009. (SHADES OF MIDLAND TEXAS....PRIOR
ACCIDENTS, PRIOR INJURIES, PRIOR DERAILMENTS, AND THEY NEVER FIXED THE
PROBLEM. ).
Hersman said investigators want to learn if the tidal surge from
Superstorm Sandy may have caused problems at the bridge. Though it's
in one of the parts of New Jersey least impacted by the storm, she
said, the storm may have affected it. (YES, AND BIRD POOP MAY HAVE BEEN
JUST ONE STRESS TOO MUCH).
Officials also were considering how and when to move the remaining
chemical from the ruptured car. (THEY ARE WAITING ON A SUMP PUMP AND A
LINE TO THE CREEK).
Even without all details of the accident determined, New Jersey state
Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat whose district includes
Paulsboro, said it pointed to a bigger problem: An aging railroad
infrastructure. (BINGO. HERE THAT MIKEY WARD. ITS CALLED DEFERRED
MAINTENANCE, AND GORGING YOURSELF ON $100 MILLION DOLLAR STOCK OPTION
BONUSES INSTEAD OF DOING THE REQUIRED INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE FOR
THE RAILROAD. IN WHICH CASE, UNCLE SAM WILL BAIL YOU OUT WITH TAXPAYER
MONEY ONCE AGAIN..).
He said the 200-foot span at the center of this derailment originally
went up in 1873. He said that accidents can happen anywhere, but "you
have to make sure, at least, the infrastructure is as safe as it could
be." (1893. LET'S SEE. ADD 445.098 DIVIDE BY 6 2/3RD PERCENT,
MULTIPLE BY 99 TO THE SQUARE ROOT OF 3.13333, AND YOU GET A TERMITE
INFESTED RUST DUST BRIDGE OF DOOM).
He said that because federal regulators oversee most freight rail
issues, it's up to the federal government to push for, and perhaps pay
for, upgrades. (AND, THAT IS BECAUSE OF WHAT? TOO MANY HANDS IN THE
RAILROAD PIGGYBANK STEALING MONEY?).
Recent state and federal funding commitments totaling $28 million to
improve rail infrastructure have not included the Paulsboro bridge, he
said. ($28 MILLION IS JUST ABOUT ENOUGH MONEY TO FLUSH THE TOILETS ON
THE LOCOMOTIVES. YOU NEED TO BUMP THAT NUMBER UP TO ABOUT
$28,000,000.000 BILLION).
Railroads run on deferred maintenance. They dont account for it on the
books. They just do enough to get by. Hence Murder at Midland, and now
toxic pollution at Paulsboro. When will they EVER learn?
|
|
