Pittsburgh Trib-Review Investigates Rail Security
Charles Johnson
Sun Jan 14, 2007 at 9:29 pm PST • Views: 278
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review exposes serious vulnerabilities in our railroad system: Terror on the Tracks.
Five years after terrorists murdered 2,996 people in the Sept. 11 attacks, the Trib embarked on a probe to see how well railroads and their customers secure lethal hazardous materials — termed “hazmat” by first responders. The road map: Reports compiled since 2003 by the Federal Railroad Administration detailing defects in the way railroads and chemical plants conducted counter-terrorism security planning and worker training.
Armed with that data, the Trib penetrated 48 plants and the freight lines that service them to reach potentially catastrophic chemicals in populated parts of Seattle, Tacoma, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, San Francisco’s Bay Area and the New Jersey suburbs, as well as two port facilities in Oregon and Washington.
Frank says: