On Local Government: Accidents Happen
Two horrible incidents that occurred in the last week should be red flags to communities who are setting up potentially problematic projects. The Asiana crash in San Francisco and the train derailment, with an ensuing explosion and fire, in Quebec, should have particularly gotten the attention of the people, and elected leaders, of Hermosa Beach.
At this writing, the cause of the Asiana crash seems to be human error. For those who fly regularly, as I do, you literally place your lives in the hands of experienced professionals and, in some cases, sophisticated technology. You expect them to perform. Sometimes they don’t.
In the case of the Quebec situation, a train filled with oil from North Dakota was being transported to a refinery in New Brunswick. (This, of course, is problem number one…the dangers inherent in transporting oil.) Then, during a standard crew break stop, a braking system malfunctioned and the train “ran away” from the crew.
It finally derailed in the small town of Lac-Megantic, Quebec, near the border with the state of Maine, exploded and devastated the downtown. Fortunately, the incident occurred in the middle of the night, so the area was essentially devoid of people.
Preparing for accidents is one thing. Every major program has, or should have, an emergency management element to it. In that plan, all of the eventualities should be assessed and mitigation actions should be detailed.
However, when a program is being developed, communities should not be dealing with these potentialities on an after-the-fact basis. The risks, and costs, of minimizing risk must be taken into account. There is no alternative to this.
When dealing with potentially devastating results, a full analysis must be made transparent to the public and the costs associated with potential actions accompanying it must be publicly aired. The public must be onboard. We are all “big boys and girls” and can handle good and bad news. We are also adult enough to understand that nothing is “risk-free.” We just want the truth.
The people of San Bruno, a city near San Francisco, were lied to by PG&E, the natural gas provider. Eight people are dead because of those lies. People’s lives were decimated. $3.85 billion in penalties were assessed…all because the truth was not told through flawed inspections and record keeping.
Hermosa Beach cannot allow this to happen. The drilling for oil and the delivery of it to refineries has risks. Some have been made public and discussed. Others are in contention.
Before this densely populated area can be assured of the safety, and be presented with a realistic assessment of the risks, of this program, including even far-fetched scenarios of potential harm, this program should not go forward.
The people need to be fully informed so they can make a very difficult judgment. They may choose either way. That is up to them. They just need to be treated as adults.