Approximately 2,000 gallons of aluminum sulfate spill while being pumped from one holding tank to another. An overheated rail car ruptures and spills oleum, which reacts with the air to produce a toxic cloud of sulfur trioxide. About 20,000 people, many complaining of nausea and burning eyes, visit hospitals. A chemical cloud is released due to a power failure. The cloud consists of sulfur dioxide or sulfur trioxide.
Police block off streets for about a mile around the company as a safety precaution.
Vapors from a sulfur spill send 44 workers at the nearby Chevron USA refinery to West County hospitals with complaints of eye, skin and lung irritation. Mechanical failure is blamed for the molten sulfur spill. The Times is examining the difficulties people face in finding doctors to attend to their health care needs. We would be interested in talking to readers who have had trouble hooking up with primary-care physicians or specialists. The Times investigates the condition of East Bay nursing homes .