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June 2011

Vol. 16, No. 23 Week of June 05, 2011

Oil Patch Bits: AKRR responds to legal appeal against herbicide

The Alaska Railroad Corp. said May 27 it reiterates in response to a legal appeal against its use of herbicides, that an integrated approach is essential to effective vegetation management, including the use of the herbicide glyphosate. This is an issue of safety. Both the Alaska Railroad and the Federal Railroad Administration require adequate vegetation control to: 1) allow inspectors to see the track to ensure its integrity; and 2) to minimize the risk of trip-slip-fall accidents for railroad crews who must walk along the track.

From 1983 to 2009, the ARRC used manual labor and mechanical means alone. During that time, ARRC fell further and further behind in the battle to control weeds during Alaska’s long summer days that promote rapid growth and re-growth.

In April 2009, a strong warning from the FRA had spurred ARRC to again apply for a permit. Earlier attempts to obtain an herbicide permit revealed a gap in the information about how herbicides behave in Alaska’s environment. In response, ARRC funded independent third-party research to answer those questions.

“The Alaska Railroad must control vegetation for safe rail operations,” said Chief Engineer Tom Brooks. “Herbicides are another tool in our tool box, along with mechanical and hand cutting, to effectively accomplish sufficient control.”






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