Thanks Houlahan, Scanlon for letter on nixing LNG trains

Editor:

When we hear the sounds of a train passing by our homes and communities, we rarely think about what these trains may be carrying.

Unfortunately as we learned through the East Palestine,

Ohio, train derailment and explosion, much of the unknown cargo on these trains can include explosive chemicals, oil and other flammable fuels, and other volatile substances.

The potential for an explosion from a train carrying explosive fossil fuels or dangerous chemicals puts millions of Pennsylvanians at risk.

To add insult to injury, efforts are underway to allow incredibly dangerous liquified natural gas to be shipped by rail across Pennsylvania and the nation.

The LNG-by-Rail rule places millions of Pennsylvanians at an even greater risk. An LNG train derailment and explosion could lead to a catastrophic train accident, dwarfing the calamity of the recent East Palestine freight accident.

Just 22 train cars of liquefied natural gas hold the equivalent energy of the Hiroshima bomb.

U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Chester, drafted a letter to the Biden administration calling on a halt to the dangerous proposal to transport liquified natural gas by rail.

U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Delaware, joined as a cosigner onto Houlahan’s letter to the White House, and for this I’d like to thank them.

The only way to protect Pennsylvanians and all Americans from the threat of LNG trains is to stop this proposal in its tracks, and it’s great that Rep. Scanlon is helping lead the charge.

Ellie Kerns, Climate field organizer,

PennEnvironment