Time will tell whether the future of shipping crude oil by railroad will be impacted by the July 6 derailment and explosion of an oil tanker train in Lac-Megantic, Quebec. Canadian news reports have suggested the Canadian government should consider tightening safety standards. North American rail companies, however, touted their low-incident performance. "Railroads have a tremendous safety record for moving hazardous materials, including crude oil," and 99.9977 percent "of all rail hazmat (hazardous material) shipments reach their destination without a release caused by train accident," the Association of American Railroads (AAR) said.
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