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Mayors Seek Hazardous Train Cargo Alert
The mayors of nearly 50 U.S. cities asked the federal government yesterday to give notice to local officials when railroad companies plan to haul hazardous materials through their communities, The (Columbia, S.C.) State reported (see GSN, Jan. 19). In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, the U.S. Conference of Mayors asked “that you take immediate action with the freight railroads” to improve the level of information provided to mayors when hazardous materials are being transported. “We need to know what is coming, where it is going and when it is coming,” said Augusta, Ga. Mayor Bob Young. “These trains run right through our neighborhoods and business districts.” Advance notice on the types of chemicals moving by train would allow emergency responders to improve their reaction to an accident such as the Jan. 6 South Carolina train wreck which released chlorine gas that killed nine people (see GSN, Jan. 10). Young said Ridge promised to put the issue on the Homeland Security Department’s agenda (Sammy Fretwell, The State, Jan. 20).
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