It’s been 20 years since the largest-ever chemical spill rocked California, leaving communities in disarray. Come join the conversation about the disaster that continues to reverberate and find out what we can learn from it.
In 1991, a railroad tank car spilled 19,000 gallons of metam sodium into the Sacramento river, and clean-up officials weren’t prepared for a spill at that scale. Southern Pacific, the railroad company, had to pay $38 million dollars for the damage and the cleanup of the river. the California Legislature and Governor Pete Wilson agreed that something needed to be done and authorized the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to create the Railroad Accident Prevention and Immediate Deployment (RAPID) program.
From this and other spills like it we need to learn to prevent them from happening in the first place! We can also learn the importance of being prepared to deal with any kind of spill and to take necessary steps to protect the environment, public health, and safety.
We need for a prevent as many accidents like this from happening and we need to find quicker and more effective ways to respond when accidents do happen.
By discussing past spills and what can be learned from them, we can do our part in protecting our environment and our communities.
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“20th Anniversary of Largest Chemical Spill in California History“
