Transportation

"WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation collects relatively small civil penalties against the railroads it regulates, as concern grows over the safety of shipping large volumes of crude oil and ethanol in tank cars long known to be deficient, federal documents show."

"Looking overseas for profits, industry giants are building shipping terminals that pollute nearby communities."

"The National Transportation Safety Board called Thursday for federal regulators to take more aggressive steps to protect the public and the environment from oil spills and fires from trains."

"WASHINGTON — More crude oil was spilled in U.S. rail incidents last year than was spilled in the nearly four decades since the federal government began collecting data on such spills, an analysis of the data shows."

"In coming weeks, the U.S. Coast Guard will decide whether to allow wastewater from the hydraulic fracturing industry to be shipped along federal waterways -- including the Ohio River -- and how strict those rules governing the shipments should be."

"Sens. John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) are pressuring administration officials to act quickly on railway transports of crude oil in the wake of multiple explosive derailments."

"Some 80,000 tank cars that don't meet current industry safety standards need to be replaced or retrofitted after several crashes of trains carrying crude oil, the head of railcar maker The Greenbriar Companies said on Wednesday."

"WASHINGTON -- Five years before a train loaded with crude oil derailed and exploded last year in Quebec, killing 47 people, another derailment in Oklahoma should have given federal regulators an early warning that the type of oil both trains carried was more flammable than authorities realized."

After 4 railcars plunged into a creek a year ago near Paulsboro, N.J., spilling vinyl chloride, the effects are still being felt by local residents.

"Hydrogen fuel cars will be offered by Hyundai, Honda, and Toyota, starting as early as next spring. Hydrogen fuel cars cause no air pollution and can be refueled like gasoline-powered cars, but fueling stations are scarce."