chemical spills

Three years ago an event destroyed the city of Poughkeepsie, forever changing reality there. Uncanny manifestations and lethal dangers now await anyone who enters the Spill Zone.

Collects three survival stories, including Julie Kagawa's "Dawn of Eden" in which a relentless virus threatens all in its path; Ann Aguirre's "Thistle & Thorne" in which a catastrophic spill turns the country into a vast chemical wasteland; and Karen Duvall's "Sun Storm" in which solar flares nearly destroy the planet.

Explores how dangerous chemicals can be released into the environment, the harm they can do, and what can be done in the future to prevent such disasters as the release of cyanide into Europe's Tisza River in 2000.

Discusses the disastrous year 2000 overflow of a Romanian reservoir that held heavy metals and cyanide, pouring the deadly mix into rivers that feed the Danube and killing all living creatures in its path.

Describes the environmental and health risks of oil and chemical spills and discusses specific incidents, including the 2002 "Prestige" spill in Spain, the oil well fires of the 1991 Gulf War, and the devastating 1984 Bhopal, India, chemical disaster.