1979 Mississauga train derailment

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Sonjaaa (talk | contribs) at 14:41, 3 May 2006. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

You must add a |reason= parameter to this Cleanup template – replace it with {{Cleanup|reason=<Fill reason here>}}, or remove the Cleanup template.

November 10 - A CP Rail train develops a hot box and derails 24 cars carrying hazardous materials near Mississauga, Ontario; almost 250,000 people are evacuated for up to five days at a time while cleanup commences.

a train carrying chemicals derails in Mississauga, Ontario and hundreds of thousands have to be evacuated

Canada November 10, 1979 – Mississauga, Canada: tank cars containing chlorine derail causing deadly smoke and air contamination; no fatalities or serious injuries, however more than 250,000 residents are evacuated from the city, resulting in the second largest peacetime evacuation in North American history, after the 2005 evacuation of New Orleans, Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina.

On November 10, 1979, a 106 car freight train carrying explosive and poisonous chemicals was derailed at the intersection of Mavis Road and Dundas in Mississauga. The resulting fire was allowed to burn itself out, but a ruptured chlorine tank was the main cause for concern. With the possibility of a deadly cloud of chlorine gas spreading through suburban Mississauga, 218,000 people were evacuated. Within a few days Mississauga was practically a ghost town, later when the mess had been cleared and the danger neutralized residents were allowed to return to their homes. At the time, it was the largest peacetime evacuation in North American history. Due to the speed and efficiency in which it was conducted, many cities later studied and modeled their own emergency plans after Mississauga's. For many years afterwards, the name "Mississauga" was to Canadians associated with a major rail disaster.

On November 10th, 1979, a Canadian Pacific train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in a heavily populated area of Mississauga near Mavis Road. A large explosion and fire ensued as hazardous chemicals spilled. McCallion, along with the Peel Regional Police and other governmental authorities, oversaw an orderly and peaceful evacuation of the entire city. She sprained her ankle early in the crisis, but continued to hobble to press conferences and updates. There was no loss of life or serious injuries during the week-long emergency and Mississauga gained international renown for the peaceful evacuation of its 200,000 residents.

http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/residents/localhistory?paf_gear_id=9700018&itemId=5500001&returnUrl=%2Fportal%2Fresidents%2Flocalhistory