One night in 1991, a train traversing the Cantara Loop jumped the tracks, spilling its contents into the Sacramento River in California. It killed a million fish that could be seen floating for days. Trees were not spared either. It turns out the train carried thousands of tonnes of a dangerous chemical known as metam sodium, a soil fumigant.

1. A Chemical Spill Is a
Serious Business
Argyle Commercial

2. One night in 1991, a train traversing the Cantara Loop jumped the tracks, spilling its contents into
the Sacramento River in California. It killed a million fish that could be seen floating for days. Trees
were not spared either. It turns out the train carried thousands of tonnes of a dangerous chemical
known as metam sodium, a soil fumigant.
It took around three years for the river to recover, and a massive state lawsuit before the case came
to a close. But one fact remains the same: chemical spills do happen, and the price is usually high.
The Cost of Chemical Spill
There are many ways to quantify the cost of a chemical spill. In 2009, a cargo ship registered in
Hong Kong spilled around 30 tonnes of oil into the sea off Queensland. The damage forced the
government to declare over 40 miles of its pristine beaches a disaster zone. It automatically meant
heavy losses for tourism.
The clean-up costs reached about $10 million. The shipping company, meanwhile, originally paid a
fine of $600,000, but it eventually paid a whopping $17.5 million, excluding the $10 million for the
clean-up.

3. Chemical spills can also have a major impact on wildlife. Seabirds, for example, can lose their ability
to fend the cold. In the process, they become hypothermic. Contact with dangerous substances can
also lead to the birds developing neurological problems, as well as ulcers and internal organ damage.
Humans are not spared either. Just like the marine creatures, people who ingest or inhale toxic
fumes can damage their lungs. The spill may also contaminate the water supply, which exposes more
people to harm.
The world cannot function without chemicals – that’s the truth. But there’s also a need to manage,
store, and control them properly. It’s not just a matter of mitigating the spill costs. It’s about
environmental sustainability and human protection.

4. Resources:
https://www.argylece.com.au/catalogue/spill-containment/index
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/owcn/oiled_wildlife/impacts_to_seabirds.cfm
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/australia-declares-oil-soaked-beaches-a-disaster-zone-1.779964