"The Obama administration's launch of a crude-by-rail safety inspection push dubbed the 'Bakken blitz' could open fault lines between freight operators and oil producers that have turned to the tracks to tote a record-high volume of flammable fuel."

"The potential for tension centers on parallel safety concerns stemming from the fatal July 6 derailment in Quebec of a 73-car Bakken oil train; operator choices such as using one-person crews on freight trains carrying hazardous materials, now prohibited in Canada; and shipper responsibilities such as classifying crude to reflect chemical properties that could lead to more severe fires and damage in the event of an accidental release.

A month before the Federal Railroad Administration and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration kick-started their joint oil-train inspection operation, a senior FRA official pointed to possible tank car corrosion from hydraulic fracturing chemicals and warned of regulators' inability to detect widespread misclassification of fuel shipments."

Elana Schor reports for EnergyWire September 3, 2013. [2]