Trains carry dangerous cargo through neighborhoods

Phil Pitchford, Ben Goad, David Danelski, Mark Kawar and projects editor Cathy Armstrong of The (Riverside, Calif.) Press-Enterprise examine the safety issues surrounding trains carrying hazardous cargo as they travel through populated areas. "Every day, trains hauling tons of hazardous chemicals roll past Inland homes, schools, hospitals and businesses." The newspaper says residents are "largely unprepared for a large-scale chemical spill along a rail line" while chances of such an incident are increasing. "More than 1.5 million Inland residents live close enough to railroad tracks to be at risk from a serious spill, according to a recent analysis using geographic information systems technology from Redlands-based ESRI." (Editor's Note: IRE and NICAR offer the Hazardous Materials Incident Report Subsystem, maintained by the Department of Transportation. It includes incident reports of unintentional releases of hazardous materials for all modes of transportation — air, highway, railway, and water.)