# PHMSA Hazmat Incident I-1979010738 — SODIUM NITRATE — SANTA CLARA, CA

**Citation:** PHMSA Hazmat Incident I-1979010738  
**Type / status:** incident / historical  
**Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration  
**Effective:** 1979-01-02  
**Published:** Not stated

Serious reporter-submitted hazardous materials transportation incident on 1979-01-02 in SANTA CLARA, CA.

## Document text

PHMSA hazardous materials incident report I-1979010738.
Incident date: 1979-01-02.
Location: SANTA CLARA, CA.
Mode: Rail.
Carrier/reporter: SOUTHERN PACIFIC TRANSP CO.
Shipper: CHILEAN NITRATE SALES CORP.
Materials: UN1498; SODIUM NITRATE; hazard class 5.1; 6000 SLB released.
Reported failure causes: Inadequate Blocking and Bracing.
Reported result: Spillage.
Reporter-submitted DOT Form 5800.1 data may be incomplete, corrected, supplemented, or misreported. A record, serious-incident classification, failure description, or relationship to a reporting rule is not a PHMSA causal finding, compliance determination, or finding of a violation.

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://portal.phmsa.dot.gov/PDFGenerator/getPublicReport/OHMIR_5800-1-PUBLIC?INCIDENTID=XE7ekVmKKk4kd%2Bi4v6h%2BYA%3D%3D>
- Source ID: `phmsa-hazmat-incidents`
- SHA-256: `3ee67ad858606a2b87c2fd82d5b68fe2a451134514214ec4f7fdd79e786aa584`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-13T12:55:56.545Z
- Exported: 2026-08-24T07:35:41.035Z
- Document slug: `phmsa-hazmat-incident-i-1979010738`

### Source metadata

```json
{
  "materialSubtype": "phmsa_hazmat_serious_incident",
  "reportNumber": "I-1979010738",
  "operatorReported": true,
  "serious": true,
  "finalAgencyFinding": false,
  "eventDescriptionExcluded": true,
  "publicPdfUrl": "https://portal.phmsa.dot.gov/PDFGenerator/getPublicReport/OHMIR_5800-1-PUBLIC?INCIDENTID=XE7ekVmKKk4kd%2Bi4v6h%2BYA%3D%3D",
  "rowCount": 1,
  "carrierReporterNames": [
    "SOUTHERN PACIFIC TRANSP CO"
  ],
  "shipperNames": [
    "CHILEAN NITRATE SALES CORP"
  ],
  "routes": [],
  "cities": [
    "SANTA CLARA"
  ],
  "states": [
    "CA"
  ],
  "originCities": [
    "PENSACOLA"
  ],
  "modes": [
    "Rail"
  ],
  "materials": [
    {
      "identificationNumber": "UN1498",
      "commodityName": "SODIUM NITRATE",
      "hazardousClass": "5.1",
      "quantityReleased": "6000",
      "unitOfMeasure": "SLB"
    }
  ],
  "packages": [
    {
      "identificationMarkings": null,
      "outerMaterial": null,
      "outerType": null,
      "outerCapacity": "100",
      "outerCapacityUnit": "SLB",
      "outerShipmentCount": "0",
      "outerFailedCount": "60",
      "innerMaterial": null,
      "innerType": null,
      "innerCapacity": "0",
      "innerCapacityUnit": null,
      "innerShipmentCount": "0",
      "innerFailedCount": "0"
    }
  ],
  "reportingRuleContext": [
    "171.15",
    "171.16"
  ],
  "caveat": "Reporter-submitted DOT Form 5800.1 data may be incomplete, corrected, supplemented, or misreported. A record, serious-incident classification, failure description, or relationship to a reporting rule is not a PHMSA causal finding, compliance determination, or finding of a violation.",
  "privacyCaveat": "The public CSV excludes preparer contact fields. Event Description is intentionally excluded from normalized records and search output to reduce incidental personal-information risk.",
  "jurisdiction": "US"
}
```