BNSF oil train derails and burns in North Dakota
A BNSF Railway train hauling crude oil from the Bakken region derailed and caught fire on May 6 at around 7:30 a.m. prompting the evacuation of the 20-resident town of Heimdal, N.D., about 115 miles northeast of Bismarck.
No injuries were reported in the derailment of the 109-car oil train, and there was no immediate word on the cause.
The six tank cars that exploded into flames were a model slated to be phased out or retrofitted by 2020 under a federal rule announced last week. They were carrying about 180,000 gallons of oil loaded in the Tioga area.
The Heimdal incident was the fifth fiery accident since February involving that type of tank car, and industry critics responded to the latest with calls for them to be taken off the tracks immediately to prevent further fires.
The train also was hauling Bakken crude that under new state standards should have been treated to reduce its volatility. Critics asked if the new standards are sufficient.
Following the derailment, the state Health Department was monitoring air quality and advising people not to breathe in the smoke. The danger from the smoke came from the particles it contains, such as ash, and not toxic chemicals, state environmental health chief Dave Glatt said.
Rain might have helped wash some of the particles out of the smoke, though it might also keep the plume closer to the ground and more likely to be encountered by people, he said.
The intensity of the blaze prevented firefighters from directly attacking the flames, and investigators weren’t able to get close enough to the spill to determine how much of the oil burned off, spilled or remained in the cars, authorities said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sent investigators to the scene to see if any of the oil made it to nearby waterways. An intermittent waterway called the Big Slough runs next to the BNSF rail line near Heimdal and then drains into the James River.
Nearly all the Bakken crude that spilled from a BNSF Railway oil train near Casselton, N.D. in December 2013 was consumed in the resulting fire.
Industry representatives and state officials said oil companies have been complying with a standard that went into effect April 1 requiring them to remove propane, butane and other gases that occur in North Dakota crude to reduce the chance of tank cars catching fire. There was nothing to immediately indicate a violation of that rule with the train involved in the Heimdal derailment.
The crude oil was being shipped by the Hess Corporation, and regulators were seeking details on tests of the crude done by the Texas-based company prior to the accident, Federal Railroad Administrator Sarah Feinberg said.
North Dakota officials said the new standard makes the volatility of treated oil comparable to unleaded gasoline.
Members of Congress who have called for a stricter standard to be imposed at the federal level said the Heimdal incident further showed that more needs to be done to prevent oil train fires that could cause a major disaster in an urban area.
In 2013, a train loaded with crude from the Bakken region derailed and exploded in the small town of Lac-Megantic, Quebec, killing 47 people and destroying much of the downtown area.
In Northwest Montana, BNSF Railway hauls oil trains over Marias Pass and through the John F. Stevens Canyon along the southern boundary of Glacier National Park and the Middle Fork of the Flathead River. Avalanches are common in the canyon during winter.