Pitt researchers collect data on where train accidents occur and what they threaten
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Railroad safety continues to be a concern after the East Palestine derailment in February and the train wreck in Harmar Township last May.
A group of University of Pittsburgh researchers gathered data to identify where train derailments occur in southwestern Pennsylvania and the risk these accidents pose.
The concern surrounding train derailments is still top of mind.
"After East Palestine, everyone was kind of like, 'what are we going to do next?'" said Daniel Bain, associate professor with the Geology and Environmental Science Department at the University of Pittsburgh.
Bain felt compelled to start researching train accidents after the February derailment in East Palestine. Bain is one of the founding members of the Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory.
He said they gathered data from the Federal Railroad Administration and plotted all rail accidents in southwestern Pennsylvania between 2011-2022.
"I was surprised. I thought it would sort of be broader and spread across the landscape, but it's really tightly grouped in the valleys," Bain said.
The report found 211 of the 270 accidents were within 300 yards of a major river. The report said, "Beyond potential hazards from cargo and fuel, the chemicals and tactics used to contain spills and manage disasters can also post risks to aquatic life."
"Most of our riverbanks are sloping down towards the river so if you spill, gravity is going to pull whatever spills right down into that river. It's kind of a double whammy -- not only do you have a spill and possibly airborne releases, but anything that's liquid is going to make it right into that river," said Bain.
The report points out the derailment near the Allegheny River in Harmar in May 2022.
"What we are here to do is sort of take a long slow analysis and say, 'that was really scary, you're miles from a drinking water intake for the city of Pittsburgh,'" Bain said.
According to the data, 245 out of the 270 train accidents occurred in, or within 1 mile of, communities defined as "environmental justice areas" by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
The DEP defines an "environmental justice area" as any census tract where 20 percent or more individuals live at or below the federal poverty line, and/or 30 percent or more of the population identifies as a non-white minority, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the federal guidelines for poverty.
The Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory report said between 2011-2021, 22 percent of all accidents involved HAZMAT cargo and a significant percentage of those hazardous accidents occurred in environmental justice areas.
"Overall, accidents where cars carrying these materials derailed are focused in more populous areas, including Allegheny and Beaver counties," the report said.
"If you look at the trends with time, the 1970s, there were like four to five times as many accidents every year than what there are today, so you can see there's a culture of safety that was implemented in the railway system in the 1970s that really brought down these accidents," Bain said.
Bain said the data highlights a need for change on the tracks.
"At least for our area, sort of reinvigorate that safety culture and bring those accidents down to an even smaller level so we have an even smaller risk of hurting our rivers, contaminating our drinking water and scaring our citizens," he said.
Lawmakers have been trying to bolster support for the proposed bipartisan Railway Safety Act.
The Pitt researchers aren't done as they're digging deeper into railroad accidents in the region. People with concerns or comments about any water-related topics can reach out to the Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory by emailing PittWater@pitt.edu. You can learn more at their website www.water.pitt.edu.
Allegheny County Emergency Services Chief Matt Brown provided a statement with KDKA-TV after he reviewed the Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory's brief:
"From a county emergency management perspective, there are many hazards in and around us all on a daily basis. All forms of public safety (fire, police, EMS) train, exercise and respond to these emergencies and disasters every day. Our Division of Emergency Management maintains a commodity flow study that is updated every two to three years that reflects the volume and types of products that transit through Allegheny County every day. The method of travel and potential is not just with trains. The most dangerous by volume and frequency is by vehicle. But all methods of transportation are included, such as river barge, pipeline, airplane and trains. The hazard or threat risk is judged by the level of risk it presents. These factors can change based on method of transportation, product or chemical type, volume or amount of product, frequency of occurrence or potential and many times location or geography.
"In addition to the commodity flow studies, our county and our region completes and maintains a threat and risk analysis based on current trends and historical data. These two studies, as well as many other factors, help to develop our priority focus for emergency planning, emergency response and mitigation efforts for the county. From the threat and risk perspective, flash flooding continues to remain our greatest potential risk.
"Our county emergency management, in concert with all 130 municipal emergency management coordinators and the nearly 400 public safety agencies across the county must be prepared for all potential risks, threats and hazards, regardless of the method of transportation, the location or the timing of the event. To some degree, the greater public can serve themselves and these efforts by realizing the potential threats and hazards that are around them every day and do their very best to prevent, plan and prepare for emergencies and disasters."