The New Jersey Sierra Club is calling for better accountability, maintenance and inspections following the train derailment in Paulsboro which resulted in the discharge of hazardous materials which also entered the Mantua Creek, which feeds the Delaware River.

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"What happened in Paulsboro should have never happened and we need to protect not only Paulsboro but the rest of the country from these types of incidents in the future.  There are hundreds of trains every year across the country carrying thousands of pounds of hazardous materials.  We have a broken system that needs to be fixed," said Jeff Tittle, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

The NJ Sierra Club is calling for better assurances that bridges and trellises are maintained and that rail lines are safe.  The group wants programs in place to ensure the tanks themselves do not leak if there is an issue along with better notice to municipalities of what is coming through their communities so they can have evacuation plans in place.

"We are playing railroad Russian Roulette with all the tanker cars carrying toxic materials through populated areas.  There are too may spills happening across this country from freight trains.  We are concerned if we do not make our rail lines safer we will see more derailments and spills and more catastrophic impacts to communities," said Tittel.  "There needs to be more information so that towns know what is coming through their towns and the liability caps need to be raised."

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