The Birth of Superfund

Bridgeport, New Jersey (1977)
Sparks from a welder's torch ignite an accumulation of chemicals, including benzene, toluene, and PCBs, at a waste storage facility. A raging fire sends up a torrent of thick black smoke resembling a tornado. Six die and 35 are hospitalized. One of the firemen reported: "Pipelines, storage tanks -- the whole place seemed like it was on fire. There were cylinders as big as a freight car flying through the air for a couple of hundred yards. . .The cloud was like a mushroom, with drums popping all over the place, a very black and high funnel, hundreds of feet into the sky."

Riverside, California (1978)
Erosion of the retaining dam for the Stringfellow Waste Pits threatens an 8-million gallon torrent of waste material, including DDT, nickel, lead, chloroform, and trichloroethylene. Heavy rains force the State to authorize a controlled release of 800,000 gallons of waste water to prevent further waste pool overflow and massive releases. Children and animals cavort in the discharge before it flows into the Santa Anna River. One parent tells the Los Angeles Times, "One of my kids came home and her boots fell apart after she played in that stuff."

Toone, Tennessee (1978-79)
Residents file a class action suit against a chemical company that dumped pesticide wastes in a landfill. Six years after the landfill is closed, the drinking water is found contaminated and the City of Toone is required to provide an alternative water supply to residents living within a three-mile radius.