Sam Gibbons: “last weekend downtown Baltimore was shut down due to the derailment of a freight train carrying hazardous chemicals.…”

“last weekend downtown Baltimore was shut down due to the derailment of a freight train carrying hazardous chemicals. Madam Speaker, just imagine what could have happened if that train was carrying high-level, highly radioactive nuclear waste, the world's most toxic, deadliest material known to man. Thousands of people would have been exposed to not only heavy smoke and soot but to invisible radiation that can kill them as well as any livestock or other crops within the area. This scenario is not science fiction. The CBS news show ``60 Minutes'' detailed that train accidents due to track failure are happening at a rate of nearly one every 24 hours. That is a train accident once every day. The Department of Energy wants to ship nuclear waste on our railways, past our schools, past our hospitals, through our neighborhoods and communities, and past schools and farms. Madam Speaker, our responsibility is to protect the American public, not endanger them. We cannot allow the DOE to threaten the lives of our constituents.”