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Hazardous goods on Canada’s rails exposed in emergency guide
Emergency guide says diesel fuel was the most common hazardous good originating in Canada, with more than 42,500 carloads.

Thestar.com
June 29, 2014
By Jessica McDiarmid

It’s a rare glimpse into the dangerous goods that are travelling Canada’s rails.

The federal government and railroad companies have long kept secret information on the types and amounts of hazardous materials transported by rail in the country. But an American railroad’s emergency guide that lists the top 25 most common dangerous goods transported on the continent sheds some light on what is plying Canada’s rails - materials such as chlorine, crude oil, methanol and propane.

The guide, published by American railroad giant CSX, includes statistics for the U.S., Canada and Mexico in 2012 that are compiled - though not released publicly - by the industry group the American Association of Railroads.

According to the information, diesel fuel was the most common hazardous good originating in Canada, with more than 42,500 carloads. The second-most common was crude oil, at more than 33,000 carloads, followed by sulphuric acid with nearly 27,000 carloads.

There are also tens of thousands of tank cars carrying some of the world’s most toxic substances, such as chlorine and anhydrous ammonia.

While it provides a snapshot of minimum carloads in Canada, it’s not clear whether the data, self-reported by industry, includes all rail traffic of dangerous goods in Canada. And, because the data is ranked by the top 25 hazardous commodities continent-wide, it’s possible that Canada alone could have large shipments of other goods that wouldn’t be included.

The data measures originations of hazardous materials in tank cars and non-tank cars but doesn’t include information about the destinations of the cargo. The top 25 materials comprise about 90 per cent of hazardous commodities transported, according to the industry group.

The railroad industry has long refused to release information publicly on the types and amounts of dangerous goods plying the rails of the continent, arguing that it’s commercially sensitive and could pose a security risk.

The CSX document clearly states that it is intended for emergency planning officials and “any other use is strictly prohibited without the prior consent of CSX Transportation, Inc.” But it has been posted online and circulated among community groups and consultants.

Public interest in what is trundling by rail past their homes has ignited in the wake of the July 6, 2013, derailment in Lac-Megantic, Que., when a runaway oil train skipped the tracks and exploded, killing 47 people.

In Toronto, city council has called for railroads to be forced to release information publicly about what is passing through the city but its demands have fallen on deaf ears.

In a recent announcement, Transport Minister Lisa Raitt confirmed the government won’t force disclosure, saying “stakeholders are satisfied.” That decision was criticized by some municipal officials throughout the GTA.

“Residents want to know what hazardous materials - and how much - are going through their neighbourhoods where they’re raising their kids,” Toronto councillor Josh Matlow said at the time. “They feel like all this information is behind a veil of secrecy, without any reasonable explanation from government about why this is so.”

A Star investigation discovered that, in two 12-hour periods alone, millions of litres of crude oil, explosives, radioactive material and highly toxic chemicals were shipped through the heart of the city along Canadian Pacific’s main line that runs parallel to Dupont St.

Both Canada’s major freight railroads, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific, say they have provided municipal officials with information on the top 25 most common hazardous goods moving through their communities, upon request, for years.

Transport Canada made those disclosures a requirement in late 2013 with a protective direction obliging companies to provide annual aggregate information, on a quarterly basis for CN and CP, to municipalities that request it. The data is shared with a select few officials sworn to confidentiality.

But industry contends the information, even its release in the form of national totals, represents a security threat.

The American Association of Railroads released a circular shortly after the Lac-Megantic disaster recommending its members provide emergency responders with lists of the top 25 hazardous commodities being shipped through their areas, with strict confidentiality agreements.

And in May, the U.S. Department of Transportation ordered railroads hauling more than about 35 carloads of crude from the Bakken formation - highly volatile oil involved in a string of fiery derailments, including Lac-Megantic - to provide state emergency planning authorities information on routes, volume and frequency of shipments.

According to a statement from the American Association of Railroads, “While the U.S. government recently determined crude oil (is) not sensitive security information, railroads have asked state agencies...not to distribute it without expressed permission.”

Some states have pushed back, arguing that the public has a right to know and withholding the information violates state laws.

The U.S. railroad association’s Canadian counterpart, the Railway Association of Canada, does not keep statistics on hazardous goods moved by Canadian carriers.

“This would have to come from the railways,” said spokesperson Alex Paterson.

Ed Greenberg, spokesperson for Canadian Pacific, said the company considers the information “security-sensitive.”

“...There is no consideration at this time to go beyond the current approach, which is to ensure emergency response organizations have the information at their disposal,” Greenberg wrote in an email to the Star.

Similarly, CN complies with Transport Canada’s directive, providing information for emergency planning, spokesperson Mark Hallman told the Star in an email.

“The direction provides strict terms and conditions for the disclosure of dangerous goods information by the railways and for the use and protection of that information by the receiving parties under confidentiality undertakings,” said Hallman.

Federally regulated railroads must provide Transport Canada with statistics on the type and volume of goods they ship, said spokesperson Ben Stanford.

But, under the Canada Transportation Act, those statistics can’t be released publicly if the information could be related to an individual carrier because it’s considered “commercially sensitive,” Stanford wrote in an email.

That means that in some cases data on dangerous goods can’t be released because, in Canada, there are only two carriers contributing statistics.

The data that is available, forwarded by Transport Canada, lists carloads of a variety of products including refined petroleum products (a category that includes everything from propane to stove oil to asphalt), chemicals and miscellaneous.

It does not, for example, separate out crude oil or highly dangerous toxic-if-inhaled (TIH) chemicals such as chlorine or anhydrous ammonia. CN and CP transported more than 600,000 carloads of dangerous goods last year, about 10 per cent of total rail freight, according to Transport Canada.

Under federal common carrier rules, railroads can’t refuse to transport dangerous cargo if it’s in a legal container.

Some of the top hazardous commodities in Canada in 2012, measured by carloads: