API, AAR team on crude-by-rail safety course

OREANDA-NEWS. March 27, 2015. The American Petroleum Institute (API) and Association of American Railroads (AAR) have teamed to develop an education module for first responders to crude-by-rail train derailments.

The program will complement existing training efforts for firefighters and other first responders and will be taught for the first time this weekend at conferences in Nebraska and Florida.

The course covers the characteristics of crude oil, tank cars and considerations and strategies for spill response and firefighting. The ciriculum will be distributed for free by the Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response (TRANSCAER) program at hazardous materials and emergency response conferences across North America. Training sessions are being planned in more than 15 states. A DVD program is also being produced for distribution to fire departments across the US.

API chief executive Jack Gerard stressed that preventing train accidents is as important as efforts to fortify the tank car or lower the volatility of Bakken crude shipped in the cars.

"We can't just focus on the tank car or can't just focus on the mitigation aspect," Gerard said. "We've really got to focus on prevention as part of the holistic fix."