Canadian Railroads > Testing the contents

WSJ reports that the FRA is plans to mandate testing tank car contents so that the placard matches the actual risk.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323838204578654463632065372.html?mod=WSJ_hp_EditorsPicks

The Federal Railroad Administration plans to start asking shipping companies to supply testing data they use to classify their crude-oil shipments, saying it is concerned that some shipments are being transported in tank cars that aren't safe enough.

In a letter to American Petroleum Institute CEO Jack Gerard last week, the FRA said it is investigating whether some crude shipments contain chemicals—possibly from the hydraulic-fracturing process used to extract it—that make them more hazardous than their classification indicates.

The agency told the API it also suspects that mixes of crude and other chemicals might be the cause of an increase in damage to tank cars caused by "severe corrosion." If shippers can't supply their testing data, the FRA said in the letter, it will work with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to test the shipments independently.

Companies routinely add highly corrosive hydrochloric acid to fracking fluid to break down rock formations. They also add certain chemicals to kill microorganisms and reduce friction in oil. Frack fluids are exempt from federal disclosure laws, but some companies voluntarily provide details, and some states require a thorough ingredient list.

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The Quebec disaster follows a number of serious accidents involving hazardous materials and tank cars in recent years that have raised federal regulators' concern. More than 34 million barrels of crude were delivered to U.S. refineries by train in 2012, a fivefold increase compared with a year earlier, according to the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the U.S. Energy Department. The volume is expected to increase again in 2013.

The Canadian Transportation Safety Board said it would analyze and compare numerous fluid samples taken from the Lac-Mégantic accident "to verify the properties of the petroleum product in these tank cars" and to help figure out "why the oil created such a fierce fire that night." It is also analyzing metallurgical samples, damage records and photographs to determine how well the tank cars involved in the derailment were prepared to withstand a crash.

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In the detailed letter to the Petroleum Institute, Thomas J. Herrmann, acting director of FRA's office of safety assurance and compliance, spelled out numerous reasons for the agency's concern. In one example, the FRA said a company was shipping crude that should have been classified as flammable in a tank car that hadn't been designed for that material. The agency could "only speculate as to the number of potential crude-oil shipments that are being made in violation of Hazardous Material Regulations," he wrote.

Shippers need to know the chemical makeup of substances they are shipping, the letter said. But FRA said its audits indicate the oil is often classified based on outdated testing and testing that doesn't reflect all the batches of oil from different sources and wells that are being mixed. Crude is frequently shipped in unit trains made up of scores of tank cars, containing oil from different shippers and many wells, some of which has been blended together.

The FRA also noted recurring problems with what it said appeared to be overloaded tank cars. Proper tank-car loading is based on a calculation that involves relative temperatures and gravity to determine the quantity to load without overloading that will result in leaks.

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George King, an engineer and technology consultant for Apache Corp., said hydrochloric acid used in fracking typically doesn't return to the surface. "I have never seen anything stronger than a very, very weak vinegar come back in terms of acid," he said.

However, Mr. King said the acid won't mix with crude oil and if stored in a tanker, will settle to the bottom. "Could it be corrosive on steel? Yes," he said.