PHMSA issues safety alert on Bakken crude flammability.

The article reports that the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has asked shippers and carriers, emergency responders, and customers to handle Bakken crude carefully as it is very flammable. The agency said that preliminary inspections after recent rail derailments involving Bakken crude, recommend to properly test, classify, and where appropriate sufficiently degasify hazardous materials before and during transportation.