adsorbing a large quantity of the pesticides, thus limiting their effective concentrations.
Fire at chemical plant, Auzouer-en-Touraine, France, 1988
A fire started after an explosion at a chemical plant which was producing a variety of different chemicals. Runoff water from the fire-fighting operation flowed into the river Brenne carrying with it a mixture of highly toxic chemicals, including phenols, arsenic and cyanides; 19 km of the river Brenne and up to 50 km of the Loire were polluted and more than 200 000 residents in the surrounding towns and villages had their water supplies cut off for a number of days.