About 135 miles of active rail lines weave through Lancaster County carrying rail cars that at any point could be filled with hazardous material such as vinyl chloride, the chemical
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Opinion: Railroad Companies Should Keep Responders Informed govtech.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from govtech.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The trains that run along about 135 active miles of rail in Lancaster County can at any point be carrying hazardous material. But real-time information on those materials is nearly impossible to get, because in a post-9/11 environment, railroads aren’t required to share that information. That secrecy means emergency responders might not know what hazardous materials they’re dealing with until they reach the scene, and that there is no single, consistent way to find the information at the scene – all of which could potentially slow their response or put them in danger. State and federal legislators are calling for greater transparency, as ongoing Congressional testimony has shown first responders weren’t able to access information about the chemicals in the overturned cars right away, and the railroad has been under fire for response time.