Boston molasses disaster
News News blog
Boston was a centre of distilling in the early 20th century, especially the production of rum. The most important basis for the production of rum is molasses, which was stored in large tanks throughout the city.
In the Boston Molasses Disaster on 15 January 1919, a United States Industrial Alcohol Company tank filled with molasses burst. The tank had structural defects and was not properly maintained. Leaks were not repaired but painted over with brown paint so that they were not noticeable.
After a molasses delivery, the tank was completely filled with about 8.5 million litres on 15 January 1919. In addition, the air temperature had risen from -14 °C the day before to +5 °C. This accelerated the fermentation processes. This accelerated the fermentation processes and increased the pressure on the outer shell - the tank burst and the entire contents of the tank poured into downtown Boston in the form of a wave of syrup up to nine metres high.
A total of 21 people were killed and 150 injured in the molasses disaster. Numerous buildings were destroyed down to their foundations. Rescue work proved difficult, as both people and vehicles found it hard to move in the sticky syrup. It was not until six months later that the streets and buildings were completely cleaned. For this purpose, several million litres of salt water were pumped out of the harbour basin, as the molasses could hardly be removed with fresh water.
