When a Missoula Rail Link train derailed April 11,
1996, ruptured tank cars exposed suddenly wakened residents of
Alberton, Mont., to 129,000 pounds of chlorine gas and 17,000
gallons of potassium cresylate (HCN, 8/3/98). More than 1,000
people were evacuated from the western Montana town that night, and
most didn’t return until health and emergency officials declared
the area “safe” weeks later. But was the town truly safe? Three
years after the accident, a video titled A Toxic Train Runs Through
It, has raised questions about how safe the town is. University of
Montana graduate student Lisa Mosca interviewed residents who told
her they suffer from various ailments, including chronic fatigue
and neurological disorders. They are also frustrated with how
officials handled the accident and its aftermath. But the hour-long
video hints that society’s appetite for products such as household
bleach and pesticides also contributes to the scenarios that lead
to chemical spills. Mosca says she “wanted to get the average
person thinking about what dangers are out there, and what
alternatives exist that they could tap into.” The outcry from
activists and Alberton residents recently led the EPA to reopen an
investigation of the spill and its continuing
effects.
The video is available free to community
and nonprofit groups. Call the Alberton Community Coalition for
Environmental Health at 406/728-7572, or e-mail
chlorina@marsweb.com.
* Ali
Macalady
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline A lasting chemical legacy.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
