Disasters

"Wyoming explosion: The town of Opal, Wyoming was evacuated, but no injuries were reported in an explosion at a facility that removes impurities from natural gas and serves large numbers of customers in the West."

"A new study is asserting a link between climate change and both the intensifying California drought and the polar vortex blamed for the recent harsh winter."

"When a storm, such as Hurricane Sandy, sets waters in New York Harbor rising, those sloshing seas are now 20 times more likely to overtop the Manhattan seawall than 170 years ago, a new study finds."

"A day after Canada issued stringent new rules for the transportation of oil by rail, federal regulators in the United States said on Thursday that they would push forward their own tank standards next week, potentially resolving a critical safety issue that has been mired in regulatory limbo for years."

"In the ongoing battle over offshore drilling, a federal judge in Alaska told regulators Thursday to redo an environmental impact study that underestimated the amount of recoverable oil and, potentially, the risks to delicate Arctic habitat."

"The warming climate is melting sea ice, opening U.S. Arctic waters to shipping and oil and gas development, but the National Research Council warned today that U.S. personnel, equipment, transportation, communication, navigation, and safety resources are not adequate for an Arctic oil spill response."

"Hundreds of West Virginia residents who sought emergency-room care in January were treated for symptoms that were 'consistent' with exposure to MCHM, the primary chemical that leaked from the Freedom Industries tank farm into the region’s Elk River drinking-water supply, according to a review made public Wednesday."

"In response to a deadly train derailment last summer, the Canadian government Wednesday ordered the country’s railroads to phase out tens of thousands of older, puncture-prone tank cars from crude oil transportation within three years."

"WEST, Texas -- Although the cause of the deadly blast at West Fertilizer Co. remains a mystery, a federal agency on Tuesday said the tragedy was preventable, citing shortcomings in existing regulations and standards at all levels of government."

"The Oregon Department of Transportation, the state’s rail safety overseer, says it will no longer ask railroads for reports detailing where crude oil moves through the state after The Oregonian successfully sought to have them made public."