Now, after 6 years of working on chemical security, Greenpeace has a major win to share with you. As part of its 9/11 legislation, Congress has approved an amendment that will increase public safety by re-routing ultra-toxic rail cargo around densely populated areas. And, President Bush has just signed the bill into law.

However, the President now needs to make sure the Department of Transportation puts the new security rules on a fast track to ensure that major cities such as Washington, D.C. won’t have to wait another year to be out of the fallout zones of these dangerous cargoes.

What are Hazardous Rail Cargoes?

Our nation’s railways connect thousands of U.S. chemical facilities. As a result, the majority of ultra-toxic chemicals transported in this country are done so by train. One Government Accountability Office report stated that 95% of the most dangerous chemicals are shipped by rail. Yet, these poison gases represent only 0.3% of the freight rail business. According to the Argonne National Laboratories, chlorine gas accounts for the majority of risk.

90-Ton Bull's-Eyes

Freight trains are among the most vulnerable domestic targets to terrorist attacks. In 2003, an FBI specialist in weapons of mass destruction warned, “… it’s far easier to attack a rail car full of toxic industrial chemicals than it is to compromise the security of a military base and obtain these materials.”

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory estimates that more than 100,000 people could be killed or injured within the first 30 minutes of a terrorist attack on one rail car of hazardous chemicals passing through a major city such as Washington, D.C., warning that, “lethally exposed people can die at the rate of 100 per second.”

The widespread presence of graffiti on freight trains, including markings on 90-ton railroad tank cars is proof of the ease with which they can be accessed.

Preventing Tragedy

Re-routing the transport of extremely hazardous cargo is one of the first and most effective steps we can take to immediately reduce opportunities for terrorists by eliminating their targets. This legislation will empower cities to demand that railroads re-route hazardous materials so we don’t have 90-ton bull's-eyes rolling down the tracks through densely populated communities.

The next step for Congress should be the enactment of legislation requiring chemical plants to use safer chemicals or processes so that large quantities of poison gas won’t need to be shipped.  That legislation (H.R. 5695) was moving in Congress last year but was blocked by the chemical industry. Similar legislation will be reconsidered this year.