Letters: Risks on the rails, river with Bakken crude oil transport

A DOT-111 rail tanker passes through Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 2012. DOT-111 rail cars are often used to ship crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken region. A National Transportation Safety Board member on Feb. 16 called the use of the cars an “unacceptable public risk.”

Address safety concerns from oil

Re "Oil shipping raises river safety worries; Surge in rail crude transit in Albany stirs outcry," Feb. 14 Associated Press article:

I am greatly concerned to discover some 5 billion gallons of Bakken crude oil is being transported by rails and barges through our Hudson Valley region each year. This poses a clear and immediate danger. I believe a quick response from the federal, state and local governments, to insure safety measures are put in place, must be taken.

Judith Ordan

Ossining

Oversight needed for Bakken crude

Re "Oil shipping raises river safety worries; Surge in rail crude transit in Albany stirs outcry," Feb. 17 article:

After reading this article about the risks of Bakken crude oil shipments, I am enraged that citizens are subjected to possible explosives and harmful health risks.

There should be stricter safety laws governing where these shipments can go, to avoid heavily populated areas.

The barges in the Hudson come very close to Westchester, and trains ship oil through Rockland County near large towns. This oil is very volatile and needs to have special equipment to transport it and be kept safely away from our backyards.

This oil obtained by fracking can be a precursor of what we can expect from gas drilling in New York state and its negative impact.

Ed Wechsler

Ossining