Improper labelling caused quick ignition in Lac-Megantic tragedy

The Transportation Safety Board says the tanker cars in Lac-Megantic ignited so quickly because of improper labelling. The TSB’s lead investigator, Donald Ross, says the oil that caught fire in the deadly train derailment was as volatile as gasoline but was labelled as less dangerous than crude oil.

“The safety message is that for dangerous goods, given their elevated hazards they need to be in transport with the proper description. So in this case we’ve got samples, and it’s in conflict with the information that was provided so we’re making that safety message to the TTG and the U.S. counterparts.”

The TSB has sent letters to transportation regulators in both Canada and the U.S. urging them to review how hazardous goods are documented for transport.

The July 6th crash killed 47 people.