The Graniteville Chlorine Disaster

HazMat transports continue to occur throughout the US and throughout the world, most often effecting remote, unprotected communities where fire services are the least equipped to deal with such an incident.

On January 6th, 2005, 9 people died, over 500 were injured, and more than 5000 were evacuated in what was considered the worst chemical accident in the history of the US. 

However, if wind conditions and the time of day had been different in Graniteville during this event, the casualties could have been counted in the hundreds, perhaps even in the thousands.

Besides the loss in human lives, the Graniteville train derailment also destroyed the economic back bone of the town by ruining the industries that provided most of the employment opportunities in the area.

This film is a short version of a longer documentary on the event, available from the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB).

The video was directed by Terri Casella and shot by Björn Ulfsson and with 3D-graphics by Bryton Entertainment. It was made possible by the generous support of the Graniteville Volunteer Fire Department and the CTIF network in the US and Europe.