The National Transportation

Safety Bureau (NTSB) is responsible for setting the evacuation safety

distances for train derailments. Unfortunately, their process is flawed.

After the Katz approval I found that the equation used in determining

such distances does not factor in population densities. For example, a

small farming town in Iowa would be served well by the 500-foot requirement;

however, the same distance would be thoroughly insignificant in downtown

Chicago because of the vast number of people on site to be evacuated.

In my review, the NTSB guidelines

do not make special considerations for schools, nursing homes and hospitals

(difficult targets for evacuation) either. Factor in our own unique traffic

density and limited access to the property in question and a school simply

does not belong on that site.

You can imagine my astonishment

when Council member Carol Fritz openly stated before a small audience

prior to a later council meeting that she was fully aware of the shortcomings

of the NTSB's distance requirements. Knowing the flawed methodology, she

still opted to have a school site adjacent to the tracks! Even though

she has no children in the school system, should not there still be some

compassion towards the children of others?

Now I direct you to Scottsbluff,

Neb., where the local newspaper, the Star-Herald, has been covering their

train derailment of Nov. 5 that necessitated "an evacuation call

of most of the city." Unfortunately, three of the tanker cars ruptured

and one was estimated to have been losing up to 20 gallons of product

per minute (each car holds 30,000 gallons). The situation would have been

much worse if the contents had been in pressurized containers.

The product was a petroleum

mixture containing 50 percent benzene that is a known carcinogen. Benzene

is used as a solvent, a component in gasoline and it is also present in

tobacco smoke. The immediate danger was that the chemical might ignite.

The derailment took place near an agribusiness facility and "forced

an evacuation for much of the city due to airborne chemicals."

According to the Star-Herald,

"short-term exposure to high levels of benzene can cause drowsiness,

dizziness, unconsciousness and death." The newspaper also added that

since most studies of benzene exposure had been performed with adults

in a workplace setting, "there exists very limited data on children

from environmental exposure to benzene."

How on earth can we morally

place an elementary school site next to the train tracks (even if it's

someone else's children attending the school)? The question is not "if"

derailments happen but "when." Luckily, in Scottsbluff the high

schools are not adjacent to the railroad tracks and they were used as

emergency evacuation shelters.

The stealth-like Wal-Mart appeal

and the fact that City Council is willing to place our children next to

the railroad tracks prove to me that our standards are drastically slipping.

Council member Fritz has told a great number of people that there was

nothing that the city could do to alter or change the zoning in the Wal-Mart

scenario, and that is totally erroneous. People are being fed a large

dose of misinformation in response to their complaints.

The Wal-Mart is dependent upon

Ga. Department of Transportation approval. Please speak to DOT Commissioner

Tom Coleman at 404-656-5206 or e-mail him at [email protected]

and let him know that you think that the Wal-Mart mitigation plan is a

threat to our health, safety and welfare.

Also, please attend the Planning

Commission meeting on Nov. 27 at City Hall and speak out against the rezoning

of the Lexington Circle property to higher density residential. This substantial

rezoning will greatly add to our school overcrowding and our tax burden.

The rezoning of the Lexington project is yet another glorious part of

Mayor Bob Lenox's legacy to our children. Please attend and speak up for

the protection of our school system.

Steve Brown

Peachtree City

[email protected]