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“Only state-of-the-art tankers equipped with additional safety features should be used to transport this material,” Tedesco said during a news conference at the H & Y Marketplace parking lot in Ridgefield.
“One single accident involving this crude oil could be devastating for Bergen County,” he said. “We must do everything in our power to protect our communities and our families from something like that happening.”
More detailed and thorough reporting is needed, as well, Tedesco added.
“As of right now, local first responders have not been informed of what is contained inside those tankers,” he said. “Our first responders need to know exactly what is inside those tankers and how often it is parked in our backyards.”
Tedesco, a Bergen County freeholder who is a 38-year firefighting veteran and the deputy OEM director in Paramus, cited a published report that at least 7 million gallons per day of highly combustible Bakken crude oil comes through nearly a dozen Bergen town along the CSX River Line:
Bergenfield
Bogota
Closter
Dumont
Harrington Park
Haworth
Northvale
Norwood
Ridgefield
Ridgefield Park
Teaneck
Bergenfield and Teaneck have already adopted resolutions demanding that federal regulators prevent the use of the DOT-111 cars — which the National Transportation Safety Board calls “inadequate” for transporting flammable materials — on Bergen County railways, Tedesco said.
“Only newer tankers that are equipped with additional safety design features that include enhanced puncture resistance systems, top fittings protection, and bottom outlet valves that remain closed during accidents should be used to transport this material,” he said.
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