The Colby Echo

Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: Opinions

There are about 200,000 miles of rail track in the United States. Along these lines that wind in and out of America's largest cities and industrial centers, across acres of farmland, and through many small towns like Waterville, are the homes of millions of Americans and their families. Railroads are part of America's history and economy. Tons of American goods travel by rail to ports for export, and thousands of Americans count on the good jobs that the rail industry provides
And as with every major industry, mistakes and tragedies occur. Of most concern to the families and communities along rail lines is the possibility of derailments which result in spillage and the emission of toxic waste or chemicals. There is, of course, a large and complex web of federal and state regulations designed to prevent such incidents. But a regulatory loophole in the Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA) has allowed law breaking and negligence along America's rails to go unpunished by tougher state laws. By asserting the preemption doctrine, rail companies can invalidate justice for victims who win judgments due to violations of state rail safety laws if they exceed in any way the weaker federal standards. But this loophole is not sufficient for some rail representatives. Just last month, they asked Congress to cap litigation awards won by victims of derailment and spill tragedies.

At 1:40 AM on January 18, 2002, this kind of tragedy took place in the small prairie town of Minot, North Dakota. Most of Minot was asleep that early in the morning; but even if the Canadian Pacific freight train that derailed that day was passing through during another time of day, the results would have been just as disastrous. A derailment of fourteen freight cars (due allegedly to poor upkeep and condition of rail tracks) spilled roughly 300,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia into the air
The cold temperature of a North Dakota winter prevented the cloud of ammonia from dissipating for several hours, and it remained hovering over the community. The ammonia cloud killed one man immediately, but it soon became clear in the following months that the lives of hundreds of residents would be changed forever. Chemical exposure to anhydrous ammonia can cause skin burns, bronchial edema, and over time, perforation of the cornea, (which leads to blindness), and chronic lung ailments.

By using the preemption strategy Congress allows as a loophole, railroads were able in federal court to kill attempts by Minot victims to be fairly compensated.

Continued...

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