(The Associated Press circulated the following article on October 4.)
BISMARCK, N.D. — The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that deals with railroad track and tanker car safety measures, Sen. Byron Dorgan says.
The measures were recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board after the January 2002 Canadian Pacific train derailment and chemical spill on the outskirts of Minot.
The accident killed one man and injured hundreds of people who were subjected to anhydrous ammonia, a toxic farm fertilizer.
If the legislation also passes the House, the Federal Railroad Administration would be required to create a program to review rail inspections, begin developing design standards for pressurized tank cars and study the safety of older tank cars.
“No other community should have to experience a tragedy like the Minot derailment, which we now know was preventable,” said Dorgan, D-N.D. “Thousands of train cars full of hazardous materials travel through communities all across America every day.”
Federal safety investigators concluded that the Minot derailment was caused by inadequate track maintenance and inspections, which Canadian Pacific officials have denied.