On January 7th a train crashed in the town of Graniteville, SC. Now, a train crash would be an awful event by itself, but this train was carrying something much more deadly, chlorine. Workers at Avondale Mills heard the crash, then saw a green gas arising from the train. Thinking they were doing themselves good the workers dropped to the ground, trying to avoid the gas. Little did they know that chlorine is heavier than air and settles to the ground. Everywhere the people went they could smell the chlorine and realized that they needed to get away. Chlorine is commonly used to purify water, but a few breaths of pure chlorine can be lethal. When taken in small amounts it can lead to coughing, burning in the throat,eyes, and nose, and many others side effects. Chlorine is especially dangerous because it can mix with the water, making it deadly to many more people.

For more information on this story go to http://college3.nytimes.com/guests/articles/2005/01/08/1203081.xml.