Cuyahoga River Catches Fire, Setting Off a Series of Pollution Control Legislation

The fire -- a brief Sunday afternoon flare-up of oil-soaked debris likely ignited by either molten steel or a spark from a passing rail car -- was doused by local firefighting tugboat crews. The story barely made the newspapers the next day.
But the effect of that two-hour flare-up has lasted four decades.
Today, the river fire stands as an enduring image of progress gone wrong.

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