Serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis. © James Conner.

 

9 July 2014

Oil train derailment evacuation zones for Whitefish

Forest Ethics has a new website, Oil Train Blast Zone, with an interactive map displaying the evacuation zones for a derailed oil train, and an oil train that’s on fire (a burning train could still be on the tracks). Here’s a screenshot for Whitefish.

oil_train_danger_zone

I do not, incidentally, fully agree with this statement by OTBZ:

We do not need the extreme oil transported by these trains. The crude oil carried by train is more explosive and more toxic than conventional crude oil; it is also more carbon intensive.

There are many types of crude oil. The sweet light crude from the Bakken oilfields that passes through Whitefish is more volatile, and thus more easily ignited, than heavier crudes. But the heavy crudes from the Athabasca Tar Sands probably have a greater carbon impact because of the fossil fuel consumed to dig it out of the ground and steam it into a transportable liquid.