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A Richmond-based environmental group launched a campaign Monday to highlight risks that toxic chemicals pose for the 340-mile James River and people living near it.

The group, the James River Association, wants to see tougher standards created for hauling and storing toxic chemicals. The campaign is called “Our River At Risk.”

The effort was triggered by an April 30 train derailment in Lynchburg in which crude oil spilled into the river and caught fire; a massive Feb. 2 spill of coal ash into the Dan River just south of the Virginia border, which sent pollution well into Virginia; and a Jan. 9 chemical leak in the Charleston, W.Va., area that put drinking water off limits for 300,000 people for days.

“These events serve as a wake-up call to the risks that continue to face the river and our communities from the storage and transport of toxic materials,” said Bill Street, chief executive officer of the James River Association.

According to the group, there are more than 1,100 toxic-chemical storage sites in the James River basin, which stretches from the mountains to the Chesapeake Bay.

The basin, or watershed, covers a quarter of Virginia. It is home to 37 counties and 18 cities, including Richmond.