ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York Senator Charles Schumer is asking federal regulators to set a strict standard for the volatility of crude oil shipped by rail to help reduce destruction from accidents like a fiery derailment in West Virginia last month.
Schumer says Wednesday he's particularly concerned about oil from the Bakken Shale formation in North Dakota and Montana because it has more volatile gases and higher vapor pressure than some other crude.
North Dakota has adopted a standard for removing gas to a certain level before shipping. But Schumer says it's too low and the regulation should be federal.
He says such a limit isn't included in still-unreleased draft oil train rules the federal transportation department developed in response to accidents, including the Lac-Megantic, Quebec, wreck that killed 47 people.
The American Petroleum Institute says studies show Bakken crude doesn't present a greater transportation risk than other flammable liquids.