Billings, Mont. (AP) The oil industry's leading trade group has adopted new standards for testing and classifying crude shipped by rail after prior shipments were misclassified, including a train that derailed in Canada and killed 47 people.
As with earlier orders from the Federal Government, the standards unveiled Thursday left it to companies to decide how often to test crude in order to gauge its danger.
The American Petroleum Institute says the standards were crafted in cooperation with regulators and the rail industry.
Shipping oil by rail has become far more common as domestic drilling booms in North Dakota, Montana, Texas, Colorado and other states.
In July 2013, a crude train from North Dakota crude derailed and exploded in Lac-Megantic, Quebec killing 47. Regulators said the shipment had been misclassified as posing a low risk.