IL SR0982

Urges local emergency response planning officials to partner with school districts to share information about safety threats related to storage and transport of hazardous substances, including petroleum oil and high-hazard flammable trains (HHFTs)

Calls for school districts to be included in the development and implementation of oil spill response plans for incidents involving hazardous materials storage and transport

References the 2013 Lac-Megantic, Quebec train derailment that killed 47 people as an example of crude oil rail transport dangers

Notes the nation's 140,000-mile freight railroad network often runs near neighborhoods and schools, placing citizens within potential blast and evacuation zones

Cites health concerns that proximity to oil trains increases rates of cancer, asthma, and cardiovascular disease through particulate matter emissions