Investigation of United States Rail-Based Crude Oil Incidents: Types and Consequences of Crude Oil Release

Crude oil transportation by rails has increased significantly in recent years in the United States. This has increased the exposure of public and the environment in vicinity of railroad tracks used by trains carrying crude oil. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a safety warning that the type of crude oil from the Bakken region in the United States may be more flammable than traditional heavy crude oil and therefore, the consequences of an oil spill may be more disastrous than expected. The objectives of this study included identifying factors that affect the types and consequences of crude oil release from trains, statistically testing the hypothesis of the PHMSA safety warning, and investigating the effects of types and consequences of crude oil release on post-release costs. Binary logit models for types of release (gas dispersion, spillage and both), and consequences of release (fire and explosion) were estimated using 2007-2016 PHMSA crude oil release data. Estimated linear regression models captured the effects of the types and consequences of release on post-release costs. Crude oil from the Bakken region had greater probability of spillage, fire and explosion. Tank car head puncture resistance system and tank car insulation did not directly affect the probability of fire or explosion, but they decreased the probability of spillage and increased the probability of gas dispersion. For each thousand-ton increase in quantity of spillage, the probability of fire and explosion increased significantly. While sufficient evidence was not available indicating a relationship between different types of crude oil release and post-release costs however, fires and explosions prominently increased these costs.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AT040 Standing Committee on Transportation of Hazardous Materials. Alternate title: Investigation of U.S. Rail-Based Crude Oil Incidents: Types and Consequences of Crude Oil Release
• Authors:
  • Iranitalab, Amirfarrokh
  • Khattak, Aemal
  • Thompson, Eric
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2018-1-7 to 2018-1-11
• Date: 2018

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 7p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crude oil; Hazardous materials; Linear regression analysis; Logits; Oil spills; Railroad safety; Railroad trains
• Identifier Terms: U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
• Uncontrolled Terms: Hazardous materials release
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Freight Transportation; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01662554
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 18-03217
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 12 2018 3:02PM