Toronto citizens group not satisfied with lists of dangerous cargo released by railways

Canada's major railway companies have released lists of the kinds of dangerous goods being transported on tracks that run through Toronto neighbourhoods, but a group of concerned citizens says it's still not enough information to make them feel safe.

Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway both gave reports to the city earlier this month listing the top 10 dangerous goods they transported in 2015, which account for less than 10 per cent of all the materials they ship.

For both railways, crude oil topped the list, making up 44.9 per cent of all the dangerous goods CP carries. For CN, that figure is 34 per cent. 

The lists, which are posted at the bottom of this story, also contain figures for such substances as liquefied petroleum gases (CN: 16 per cent), sulfuric acid (CP: four per cent, CN: 11 per cent), propane and other petroleum products.

Patricia Lai, co-founder of Safe Rail Communities — a non-partisan group that advocates for safe, transparent, and regulated rail — says she's not surprised by the types of dangerous goods the railroad companies have admitted to carrying.

But she says the information is of limited value.

"Really what we've been asking for the whole time is that real-time data be provided to first responders so they have the information to react quickly," Lai said. "Historical data is great, but it doesn't really help them prepare for what could happen."

She says CN and CP have not fully complied with what her group has been asking for, which is for emergency crews to know exactly what is being carried in the event of an accident.

"Right now, they basically have to dial a 24-hour hotline and read the number off the side of the tanker if they can see it. If there's an explosion or they can't get close they won't know what's on that train."

Lai was also concerned that the dangerous goods lists only became public when they were attached to a City of Toronto document. The reports were part of an item on the agenda for next week's meeting of Mayor John Tory's executive committee.

"We didn't know about it," said Lai.

Mayor John Tory's executive committee is asking for a status report on risk assessments being undertaken by rail companies across Toronto for tracks where dangerous goods are carried and an examination of alternate modes for transporting dangerous goods across the city.

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Coun. Josh Matlow (St. Paul's, Ward 22) has long heard concerns from residents who live along CN and CP rail corridors.

He says Transport Canada Protective Direction 36,  which became effective in April and requires public disclosure of dangerous goods shipments in specific jurisdictions, is a step towards more transparency.

"[The federal government] has demonstrated over the last year that they are willing to make progress. They have created regulations to provide more information," he said. "But more can be done to make rail safety better." 

Matlow said the black tanker cars that transport crude oil, called DOT -111, are still transporting that substance through Toronto.

"These are the very cars that derailed and expoded in Lac Megantic," he said.

On July 6, 2013, tanker cars carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, killing 47 people and destroying the centre of the town.

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Ottawa agreed to phase out the use of the aging DOT-111 tanker cars for the transportation of crude oil.

"What still concerns us is the transitionary period that allows companies to phase out these cars," Matlow wrote
In an email to CBC News.

"As per Protective Direction 38, all older DOT-111s ... will not be permitted to transport crude oil in Canada after November 1, 2016, whether in transit or as a final destination." Natasha Gauthier,  the senior media relations adviser for Transport Canada, told CBC News in an email. 

She wrote that at the end of July 2016, there were approximately 61,000 older DOT-111s in North American carrying flammable liquid. Seven hundred of them are used in crude oil service.

This type of  tanker car will be completely prohibited for the shipment of all flammable liquids in Canada in 2025, Gauthier said.