Ethanol Replaces Crude Oil at Clatskanie Port
by Marissa Luck (The Daily News) Global Partners’ terminal at Port Westward has reopened, only this time ethanol is replacing crude oil as the commodity of choice at the Clatskanie-area facility.
The terminal, known as Columbia Pacific Bio-Refinery, began receiving shipments of the flammable gasoline additive earlier this summer. In June, 95 rail cars carrying ethanol moved along the Columbia County rail line to Port Westward, according to the Oregon Department Transportation. Numbers for July and August won’t be available until late September.
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Risk of derailment in Rainier is low because the trains there typically travel 10 mph, said Eric Smythe, operating chief at Columbia River Fire & Rescue. Most train derailments happen at speeds of 50 to 70 mph, Smythe said.
He added that the trains aren’t necessarily more risky with ethanol instead of crude oil. READ MORE