Lac-Mégantic Inferno- What It Was & Why It Can Happen Again
Wednesday, July 16, 7 pm
Join us for a presentation & discussion
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Lac-Megantic Inferno Photo Credit David Charro
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On July 6, 2013, a train
carrying Bakken crude oil derailed and exploded, creating an inferno
that devastated the small town of Lac-Mégantic in Quebec, Canada. The
inferno burned for four days, killed 47 people, destroyed over 40
buildings, and could not be suppressed with local fire department
equipment. However, almost nothing has been done to prevent future such
disasters, and protests commemorating the victims and demanding an end
to these dangerous transports are being organized around the country
this week, including here in Chicago.
Why does this matter? The train that derailed in Lac-Mégantic was just one of a network of train lines being used to transport Bakken crude oil originating from fracking operations in North Dakota, an industry that has itself "exploded" in the last few years with hundreds of thousands of trains now transporting this volatile crude across Canada and the US. A Canadian engineer said that "rupture prone trains are still rolling" across North America, including the Chicago area.
Our guest speaker, a safety engineer, will give a talk including a slideshow on the details of why this oil is so volatile, why most of the tankers carrying it are completely inadequate, the horrors of the fracking Industry, and the danger all this poses for people and the planet. She discovered this incidentally while doing research as part of fire science studies in the field of occupational health and safety. She will present in honor of the 47 people killed in the disaster, from her perspective as both a scientist and a revolutionary internationalist.
Join us for a presentation & discussion about this deadly disaster, what it is part of, why this is happening, and what is needed to stop it.
$5 suggested donation, no one turned away.
Why does this matter? The train that derailed in Lac-Mégantic was just one of a network of train lines being used to transport Bakken crude oil originating from fracking operations in North Dakota, an industry that has itself "exploded" in the last few years with hundreds of thousands of trains now transporting this volatile crude across Canada and the US. A Canadian engineer said that "rupture prone trains are still rolling" across North America, including the Chicago area.
Our guest speaker, a safety engineer, will give a talk including a slideshow on the details of why this oil is so volatile, why most of the tankers carrying it are completely inadequate, the horrors of the fracking Industry, and the danger all this poses for people and the planet. She discovered this incidentally while doing research as part of fire science studies in the field of occupational health and safety. She will present in honor of the 47 people killed in the disaster, from her perspective as both a scientist and a revolutionary internationalist.
Join us for a presentation & discussion about this deadly disaster, what it is part of, why this is happening, and what is needed to stop it.
$5 suggested donation, no one turned away.
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