Reuters reports that as many as 5.7 million students attend school in the ‘blast zone’ of trains carrying crude oil, prompting environmental group ForestEthics to ask for a halt on oil train travel.

Nearly 15,000 schools are located within the one mile area of railroad tracks that has to be evacuated in the event of a train crash, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data and regulations.

ForestEthics wants stricter rules for crude oil transportation to be put in place before trains can carry the volatile material by rail. Earlier this year, DOT reduced speeds of trains carrying crude oil to 40 miles per hour maximum in cities and also chose safer routes for trains, among other updated standards for tank cars and brakes.

Via: Reuters > Oil train risks affect many U.S. schools, group says

More about rail and the oil industry:

• Trains carrying crude oil may be re-routed around Pittsburgh Aug. 22, 2015
• New oil tank car rules lacking in fire protection, according to experts May 18, 2015
• Amount of Bakken crude oil transported through Ohio by rail raises concerns April 3, 2015
• Oil & rail industries develop crude-by-rail safety course for first responders March 27, 2015
• Senator Casey advocates for better training of first responders to oil train accidents> March 17, 2015
• Bakken oil passes through Ohio on way to East Coast refineries Feb. 3, 2015
• Rail meets the shale oil industry July 18, 2014