History for Chron

A wrecked railroad car created a large white cloud of toxic smoke in Norman, Oklahoma. The winds carried the smoke, causing more than 8,000 residents to evacuate their homes. The danger was from the phosphorus trichloride leaking from 55-gallon steel drums.

The general manager of FMC, the company that created the chemical, said the chemical becomes flammable foam and subject to explosion. The chemicals’ two main applications are to act as a plasticizer or extender for plastic properties and as an agricultural chemical property.

More than 125 people were treated for their exposure to the gas, with most of them suffering from nausea, burning lungs, watering eyes and skin irritation.

Toyo Pulp Co. of Japan was looking to set up a joint venture with the United States to produce pulp. One of the potential sites for the new pulp plant was in Sandpoint , Idaho. The company was expected to build a 300 metric-ton-per-day pulp plant at a cost of around $50 million.