Edd's Gatherin' Place

On January 6, 2005, South Carolina experienced a deadly train accident in Graniteville, S.C. killing 9 people and hospitalizing and injuring hundreds more. The New York Times headline for today Sunday, January 9, 2005, reads, Deadly Leak Underscores Concerns About Rail Safety (registration required).

Ten months ago, government safety officials warned that more than half of the nation's 60,000 pressurized rail tank cars did not meet industry standards and they raised questions about the safety of the rest of the fleet as well.

Their worry, that the steel tanks could rupture too easily in an accident, proved prophetic.

On Thursday, a train crash in South Carolina caused a deadly release of chlorine: 9 people were killed, 58 were hospitalized and hundreds more sought treatment. The ninth body was found yesterday, and thousands of people have been kept from their homes.

Last summer, a derailment in Texas caused a steel tank car to break open, spewing clouds of chlorine gas that killed three people.

The exact causes of the accidents are still under investigation. But the devastation they have wrought shows why tank cars have become an
increasing concern not just to safety investigators but also to domestic security officials worried that terrorists could turn tank cars into lethal weapons.

Governor Sanford must insist from this day forward full disclosure from the National Transportation Safety Board, The Railroad Administration, Norfolk Southern Railroad, and all other federal and state governmental bodies involved in the investigation of this accident full accountability. Let us state our needs fully and boisterously if need be under the banner of “State’s Rights.”

Norfolk Southern Railroad has already shown asinine behavior in handing out assistance checks with fine print on the backside of the check stating, “Endorsement of this check constitutes a full, final release of claims growing out of an accident in Graniteville, South Carolina on 1/6/2005.” Although railroad officials say that by signing this $155 dollar, check in no way limits an individual from acquiring future compensation from the company. If you were an affected individual, “Would you sign a measly check for $155 dollars and sign away your future rights to just and proper compensation?” No, you would not!..