EDITORIAL PREPARING FOR THE WORST BILL WOULD MAKE RAIL COMPANIES PREPARE COMMUNITIES FOR POSSIBLE DISASTERS.CONSIDERING the amount and types of chemicals that pass through communities around Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, on a regular basis - toxic, hazardous, corrosive corrosive /cor·ro·sive/ (kor-o´siv) producing gradual destruction, as of a metal by electrochemical reaction or of the tissues by the action of a strong acid or alkali; an agent that so acts. and even explosive - more needs to be done to prepare residents for potentially lethal train crashes and spills. A bill by state Sen. Nell Soto Nell Soto (b 1926) is an American politician representing California's 61st assembly district that includes includes parts of of Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties and the cities of Ontario, Pomona, Chino and Montclair. She has represented the 61st district since December 2006. , D-Ontario, would require rail companies to foot the bill for measures communities take to get ready for a rail disaster. On any given day, homes, schools and businesses are put at risk by the hazardous cargo driven through on the rails. So it's best to plan ahead. Under Soto's SB 351, communities would be able to charge rail companies a fee to offset the cost of creating evacuation evacuation /evac·u·a·tion/ (e-vak?u-a´shun) 1. an emptying. 2. catharsis; emptying of the bowels. e·vac·u·a·tion n. plans and conducting disaster drills in neighborhoods where trains pass through. Rail safety is something railroads should be responsible for. It is unfair to expect communities, already hard hit by a lack of funds, to come up with the funds on their own. |
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