From Sally Quinn’s column in today’s
Washington Post:
"What if I told you that:
"On average, six rail cars a week carrying 90 tons of chlorine, one of the most lethal gases in the world, pass within 20 blocks of the U.S. Capitol?
"If terrorists attacked the rail cars, escaping gas could kill or injure tens of thousands – about 100 people a second?
"Depending on the wind, a chlorine spill would be lethal to people within two to five miles and would endanger people within 14 miles?
"The chlorine passing through Washington is not for use here?
"The rail cars basically are unprotected and are emblazoned with placards announcing that they carry hazardous cargo – including the specific code for chlorine?
“It doesn’t have to be this way. CSX Transportation (CSXT) could reroute these cars. So why doesn’t it?”
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Better it is in railcars, under the care of professionals on railroad property than in trucks manoevering through D.C. Traffic on the Interstates among precoccupied drivers intent on their morning Starbucks or chatting on their cells.
Sam
This article has already run at least once before. The D.C. council is again trying to use the press to lather up the District to stop the big bad railroad…
Never mind that they have already been tossed out of court with their unconstitutional ordinance once…
I got a better idea… let’s run this story in the Washington Post so that the terrorists know that there is an opportunity to do some damage. While we are at it, why not tell them the most effective way to detonate a railroad tank car just to show the world how “unsafe” that “big bad” railroad really is [censored][banghead].
That idiot at the Washington Post needs to go find a new job as Geraldo’s producer… [2c].
Then under public pressure, the federal government can pressure CSXT to hand over their railroad line in DC, so that the Department of Homeland InSecurity can contract Dubai Ports World to make that railroad line safer from terrorists [soapbox][soapbox].
So what is the difference if terrorists attack the same cars on another route? Simply shifting the risk is absurd. If we are serious about preventing a terrorist attack then we need to ackowledge the enemy, actually declare war, and defend our borders.
Wining of an everyday risk and attempting to protect one city while exposng another will not minimize the risk. Frankly I am sick and tired of individuals trying to protect New York and Washington DC while ignoring the risks to the rest of the nation. Do not forget that the worst terrorist to its time occured in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. We also had an suicide bombing outside of our stadium in Norman last year.
We all face risks from terrorism. Lets avoid meaningless feel good solutions and try to actually understand the real risks to the entire country.
Washington DC city council needs to be more productive with their time and tax payer’s money. It was addressed before and was taken care of-they need to relax and move on.
Interesting. I wonder why they didn’t produce stats on what trucks carry through the D.C. area as well. A TAD biased perhaps maybe? Well, there is a simple solution, you know. Let’s build bypasses around all the major cities. Rochester, MN is pissing and moaning about it (oops, sorry) pointedly objecting to rail corridors through the city. Why not carry that over to every major city? In fact, let’s just abolish railroads all together. They are just nasty and efficient modes of transportation.
Maybe he government should take all of those box cars they equipped with shackles [;)] and convert them to haul hazmat. That way the dangerous shipments will be disguised and the bad guys will not know which cars to target.
I think weve done it again: the terrorists probly never thought of that one
but right now in a cave theres a guy with a satellite laptop looking at the artical going
“hmm thats not a bad idea.”
[xx(][xx(][xx(][xx(][xx(]
People want the benefits that these hazardous products bring. With chlorine we have much safer water systems. We do not have the outbreaks of Typhoid or other water borne bacteria that used to be an almost annual event in certain cities in the US in the 1700s and 1800s. So if the benefits are desired, those reaping the benefits should also sholder the risks, not foist them off on someone else. If those inside the beltway want safe water, modern pharmaceuticals, plastics, electronics, fuel, etc. then they should accept the risks that go along with the manufacture and transportation of those same products and thier precursors.
I submit that it would do more good to use the shackle cars to confine (and hopefully muzzle) fear-mongering so-called journalists and brain-dead politicians, especially the DC City Council. That would improve the world a bunch.
Although we shouldn’t stop with just the city council–we should continue all the way to the top. “Fear-mongering” seems to be at a near-epidemic level lately.
I agree - Sally Quinn is an idiot, and she and those she is serving as a mouthpiece for just gave away the farm.
I was raised by a railroader, who served both as a head brakeman and a railroad official, and offhand I can think of a couple of ways of sabatoging a railroad. But there is NO WAY IN H-E-Double Hockey Sticks I would share that information in a public forum, such as a newspaper or on a public board like this. To do so is pure foolishness.
I hope Sally Quinn can sleep soundly at night, knowing she has provided potentially damaging informaion to enemies of the state. I’d also like to know how loud she will scream Freedom of the Press when someone takes her up on her offer. [:0] [banghead]
Railroad technolgy is the same all over the world. You do not have to read Sally Quin to figure out a railroads strengths and weaknesses whether it is in Kansas or Pakistan.
Yes, but we don’t need to remind others of potential blind spots.
When we were interviewing Japanese pilots after WWII, we found they were totally unaware of the significance of the large white structures (oil tanks) located on the hills above Honolulu. If they had been aware of their significance, they could easily have crippled our war effort with a minimum of effort by destroying those fuel supplies.
So why is it okay to point out potential blind spots to our enemies today?