To: President Donald Trump
President Obama: It's time to ban oil trains
The unfolding oil train disaster in West Virginia is the latest story of one of these exploding oil bombs derailing in our community. These trains travel through residential areas, major cities, and near millions of people. It's time to ban oil trains before another disaster happens and even more damage is done.
Why is this important?
Fayette County, West Virginia, is reeling from an oil train disaster today. Residents face flames shooting 300 feet in the air, and oil is spilling into the Kanawha River, the drinking water source for downstream communities.[1]
From today's event to 2013's massive oil train explosion in North Dakota to the 47 people who lost their lives after an oil train explosion in Quebec, it is clear that oil trains put our communities at risk for death, injury, and destruction.
Incredibly, first responders and local officials aren't usually informed that these unsafe trains are cruising through their communities carrying millions of gallons of explosive oil.
These trains travel through major communities across the country, putting millions inside the evacuation zone of an accident like this.
Our objective is clear: we need to get these dangerous oil trains out of our communities and out of Pennsylvania before they cause a catastrophic accident in the Keystone State.
[1]"Train derailment sends crude oil cars into Kanawha River; explosions erupt," Metro News, February 16, 2015.