Denver spill forces 5,000 to evacuate

Thousands of Denver residents were rudely awakened by the spill of 20,000 gallons of nitric acid, reports Monitor correspondent David F. Salisbury. An accident at the rail yards here resulted in a heavy cloud of toxic gas that forced officials to evacuate more than 21/2 square miles of the city and close two interstate highways. More than 5,000 people were forced to leave their homes. Although the city's fire department announced the source of the gas had been neutralized six hours after the spill, the necessity for neutralizing the toxic cloud and general mopping up made it unlikely people would immediately be allowed back into their homes.