Page "Sacramento River" Paragraph 26

In July 1991, a train derailed near Dunsmuir, California alongside the Sacramento River.

A tank car split open, spilling about 19, 500 gallons of the pesticide metam sodium into the river.

The chemical formed a stinking, bubbling, green glob that moved down the river, killing everything in its path.

More than one million fish were killed, including at least 100, 000 rainbow trout, and thousands of other aquatic creatures as well as nearby trees.

Next, the green glob entered Shasta Lake, California ’ s largest reservoir.

Fortunately, a system of aerating pipes at the bottom of the lake had been set up to dissipate the chemical, reducing it to almost nothing by the 29th, preventing further environmental destruction.

The tank car carrying the metam sodium through California was of a type that the National Transportation Safety Board said had “ a high incidence of failure ” in accidents.

Furthermore, the tank car was not labeled, so the train ’ s crew didn ’ t know that they were hauling a dangerous chemical.