SACRAMENTO — Trains carrying hazardous materials are getting new scrutiny. California Congressman John Garamendi said a disaster like the Ohio train derailment could happen in the Golden State.

"Hundreds of different chemicals are on the tank cars that are moving up and down the state of California through our cities," Garamendi said.

Derailments have caused environmental disasters in Northern California before. In 1991, a train derailed along the Sacramento River near Dunsmuir and spilled 19,000 gallons of herbicide, killing nearly all the fish dozens of miles downstream.

Today, one of the biggest concerns is trains carrying crude oil.

"That petroleum produce is extremely volatile. It is explosive," Garamendi said. "There is a lot of gas in that oil."

In 2016, concerned citizens successfully fought a plan that would have increased the number of oil railcars coming through the region.

"We are very proud that people are waking up to the danger," Garamendi said.

The congressman has spent years trying to improve railway safety, which has led to new hazmat tanker car regulations.

"Tank cars that are double walled and that the vapor, the volatility, the explosiveness be significantly reduced," he said.

Other safety measures he's supported have been met with strong opposition from the industry.

"They push back. They've got a million reasons why it doesn't work, why it doesn't have to be done, why things are OK now," Garamendi said.

He wants all railcars to have modern electronic brakes and automatic sensors to prevent collisions, and he wants to change rules that currently allow a train to be operated by just one engineer.

"So if there's something wrong, who's going to get off the engine to see what's going on? Nobody," he said.

Garamendi said taxpayers should not be paying for derailment disaster costs, saying "the rail companies must be held totally 100% responsible."

Outrage is growing because the Ohio train that derailed was labeled non-hazardous simply because most of its cargo was not carrying the dangerous load. The Ohio governor has called on Congress to change that.