Train Derailments

Last month we got the news about the train derailment in Ohio and if you all are anything like me, it sounded like a bit of a one off — I haven’t seen much coverage about train derailments and hazmat spills on the news the majority of my life. This derailment in Ohio received a lot of coverage and will likely turn out to be one of the biggest domestic environmental disasters of my lifetime. Unfortunately, the problem of trains and hazmat spills is bigger than I thought. 

Last year alone, we had 1,044 train derailments.  Of those derailments, 337 resulted in hazmat spills.  Also in last year, we had 330 hazmat spills from stationary trains, trains that did not derail.  Those incidents are called non-accidental releases, which is hilarious to the cynically minded.   These numbers are based solely on what is actually reported.  Some sources report that nearly half of all serious hazmat spills are not reported by the railroad companies.

I just wanted to shine a little light on this since I don’t see much discussion on the bigger systemic problem that exists. Given that vanguard and blackrock own controlling stakes in railroad companies and all major news networks, I’m inclined to think the silence is by design :/