Accident Spills Pesticide into the Sacramento River
At a glance:
- Series: Great Events from History II: Ecology and the Environment Series
- Categories: Environmental Issues, Disasters
- Subcategories: Ecology, Environment, Conservation, Pollution, Toxic Waste
- Curriculum: American History 1951-present
- Geographical Location: California
- Date: July 14, 1991
Article abstract: A railroad accident six miles north of Dunsmuir, California, spilled thirteen thousand gallons of the pesticide metam sodium into the Sacramento River, killing aquatic life in more than forty miles of the river.
Summary of Event
On July 14, 1991, a railroad car containing 19,500 gallons of the pesticide metam sodium derailed, and the pesticide leaked into the upper Sacramento River six miles north of Dunsmuir, California. The pesticide killed all aquatic life in the river for a distance of forty-five miles downstream to Lake Shasta, a...
[The entire page is 2254 words long]
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