(The following report by Jay Warren appeared at WCPO.com on April 7, 2009.)
CINCINNATI, Ohio — Cincinnati city council will vote on a resolution that would ask the Obama administration to help re-route trains carrying toxic materials away from heavily populated areas.
“This is first and foremost a health and safety issue,” said Roxanne Qualls who is sponsoring the resolution.
“We need to ensure that our communities are protected from potentially deadly leaks,” she continued.
Qualls wants the federal government to force railroads to work together to ship toxic materials in the safest most direct route possible.
Qualls says CSX Transportation currently ships chlorine gas from West Virginia through Cincinnati when it could pay another railroad to use its rails to ship the product more directly to Michigan.
“They have to negotiate with another railroad and they also might have to pay some leasing money in order to do it, but for our community it would be much safer,” she continued.
“Rail is by far the safest mode of transportation for these materials,” said Bob Sullivan, a CSXT spokesman.
While CSXT would not discuss the idea of partnering with another rail line, Sullivan did stress that his company would prefer not to ship hazardous materials at all.
“While we would much prefer an alternative solution our obligation, and indeed our commitment, is to carry them in the safest most efficient manner that we possibly can,” said Sullivan.
Cincinnati city council will vote on the resolution Wednesday afternoon.
Should it pass, Cincinnati’s Washington D.C. lobbyist will push for the Obama administration to look at the issue.