Oil-related Emergencies & Disasters

Fires continued to smolder Tuesday morning as emergency crews assessed the damage after a train carrying Bakken crude oil derailed and exploded near the Mt. Carbon area of Fayette County, West Virginia. "Whether it is explosive Bakken crude or toxic Alberta tar sands this extreme oil cannot be transported safely by train.

Residents of a West Virginia county started picking up the pieces Tuesday after an oil tanker train derailment and fire forced more than a hundred people from their homes and threatened water supplies for thousands,raising new alarm among environmental activists over the rail transport of crude oil through their state.

The Department of Emergency Management at NDSU has been and will continue to support the development of an academic discipline of emergency management. It is one of our biggest and most ongoing "projects". Toward that end, faculty members in the Department have participated in various national level efforts, published written work, and provided paper presentations at conferences.

On Nov. 7, Martin Sheen's latest film, "A Prayer for Rain," will be released in U.S. theaters. It brings to life the story of the tragic chemical disaster 30 years ago in Bhopal, India, and raises the question, Are we safe from a similar tragedy unfolding again? Chemical safety advocates say not very.

The toxic waste that activists say continues to seep from the factory and pond remains a big point of contention. Samples of water tested in 2009 by the Bhopal Medical Appeal, a nonprofit that works with the survivors, showed high levels of contamination.

Scientists from around the world have spent decades trying to answer the question: What happens when oil spills in ice?
As global temperatures climb and the Arctic sea ice melts, shipping in the Arctic is on the rise and oil and gas companies are eyeing further development of the vast resources of the North.

Obama's decision to green-light Shell's activities this summer have put him at sharp odds with environmentalists.