Monday, May 11, 2015
Oil in North Dakota Derailment Was Treated to Cut Volatility
BISMARCK, N.D. — May 7, 2015, 7:09 PM ET
By MATTHEW BROWN and BLAKE NICHOLSON Associated Press
A shipment of oil involved in an explosive train derailment in North Dakota
had been treated to reduce its volatility — a move that state officials
suggested could have reduced the severity of the accident but won't
prevent others from occurring.
Hess Corporation spokesman John Roper said the oil complied with a state
order requiring propane, butane and other volatile gases to be stripped
out of crude before it's transported. That conditioning process lowers
the vapor pressure of the oil, reducing the chances of an explosive
ignition during a crash.
Despite the treatment of the crude in Wednesday's accident, six cars
carrying a combined 180,000 gallons of oil caught fire in the derailment
2 miles from the town of small Heimdal in central North Dakota. The
town was evacuated but no one was hurt.
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A report found that close to half of all Americans are threatened by shaking from earthquakes strong enough to cause damage.
Rong-Gong Lin II, Los Angeles Times | May 7, 2015
(TNS) — People living in California and the West Coast still face the
highest earthquake risk. But a new study says they are not alone.
That report found that close to half of all Americans — nearly 150 million people — are threatened by shaking from earthquakes strong enough to cause damage.
That figure is a sharp jump from the figure in 1994, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency estimated that just 75 million Americans were at risk from earthquakes.
One reason for the sharp increase in exposure to quake damage is population increases in areas prone to earthquakes, especially California, said William Leith, a co-author and USGS senior science adviser for earthquake and geologic hazards.
That report found that close to half of all Americans — nearly 150 million people — are threatened by shaking from earthquakes strong enough to cause damage.
That figure is a sharp jump from the figure in 1994, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency estimated that just 75 million Americans were at risk from earthquakes.
One reason for the sharp increase in exposure to quake damage is population increases in areas prone to earthquakes, especially California, said William Leith, a co-author and USGS senior science adviser for earthquake and geologic hazards.
Shop PrepareNowStore.com for Earthquake Survival Kits.
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