CBRN event in United States of America on Wed 18th March 2026

A big rig overturned in Dorris, California, spilling 60 gallons of the toxic herbicide Paraquat. Highway 97 was closed for the day for HazMat cleanup, and a shelter-in-place order was issued for residents. One person was taken to a medical center for possible poisoning and was later released. Highway 97 in Siskiyou County reopened Tuesday night after a tank fell off a big rig, leaking 60 gallons of extremely toxic herbicide onto the highway and adjacent property in Dorris, north of Weed. Traffic resumed in the northeastern California town near the Oregon border after an emergency response team spent the day cleaning concentrated Paraquat off the highway and adjacent property, Director of Emergency Services Bryan Schenone said on Tuesday evening. "The chemical has been neutralized, and the scene has been declared safe," the county reported at 9:30 p.m. on March 17. The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office lifted a "shelter in place" order, in effect for Dorris residents since that morning. Ten people received medical attention for possible exposure to the paraquat, said California Highway Patrol Sgt. Shawn Gordon. HazMat spill closes Northern California town for day County and state officials warned people in Dorris to stay indoors after the spill started. That happened before 8:06 a.m., Gordon said. The devices securing the tank of paraquat to the truck "failed" and it fell off the truck onto the highway where it started to leak. The first call to emergency services came in at 8:30 a.m., Schenone said. By then, the tank had started to leak the paraquat on the highway and parking area downtown. Paraquat is a "nasty" toxic substance, he said, but the leak was slow after the initial spill, giving the HazMat cleanup team time to mitigate the herbicide's effects. "We were able to block (drains) and throw down drain stops" in town, and most of the chemical pooled on the highway and on the gravel parking lot flanking it, Schenone said. Note to readers: If you appreciate the work we do here at the Redding Record Searchlight, please consider subscribing yourself or giving the gift of a subscription to someone you know. Toxic paraquat spill on Highway 97 sends 10 to medical centers in Yreka, Tule Lake Paraquat is a water-soluble herbicide so toxic that “one small sip" can kill a human, "and there is no antidote,” the Environmental Protection Agency said. The toxin can also cause severe health issues if the liquid is touched, or fumes or spray breathed. One Highway 97 motorist had to go to Fairchild Medical Center in Yreka for possible paraquat poisoning after they drove through Dorris during the initial spill on Tuesday morning. The hospital released the person later that afternoon, Schenone said. Another nine people were checked for paraquat poisoning by medical staff in Tule Lake, Gordon said. Some of the herbicide splashed on passing vehicles, Schenone said, prompting the Siskiyou County Office of Emergency Services to warn Highway 97 drivers to wash their vehicles thoroughly with soap and water. "Paraquat is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world, despite its high human toxicity and the overwhelming evidence of associated high morbidity and mortality," according to a 2025 report in BMC Public Health in the National Library of Medicine. The herbicide's use is banned or discontinued in more than 70 countries, including China, Brazil, Canada and European Union countries, according to a letter sent to the EPA by Texas Congressman Greg Casar and 46 other representatives in 2024. The sheriff's office, California Highway Patrol and California and Oregon departments of transportation helped with the cleanup and diverted traffic along Highway 97 during the closure, Schenone said.