A “natural” disaster caused by molasses? It could and did happen in Boston in January 1919 when a molasses spill caused a true tragedy. Twenty-one people died, and 150 people were seriously injured when hot molasses burst from a huge vat near the Boston harbor.
Molasses was the standard sweetener used in America at that time, but more importantly for the United States in the 1910s, it could be fermented to produce ethyl alcohol that was used in making munitions. This was the primary purpose of the molasses being stockpiled in Boston at that time. The U.S. military was gearing up for war.
This particular tank was built hastily in 1916. No one took time for safety measures or pressure-testing.
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How Molasses Was Delivered
Molasses was a product of the Caribbean. The molasses shipment that arrived in Boston in early January was from Puerto Rico. The ship docked at the waterfront and then hooked up to the vat so that molasses could be pumped into a shorefront tank. This one was an industrial tank owned by the Purity Distilling Company. It stood 58 feet high, and when filled to capacity, it held 2.5 million gallons of molasses.
Later it would become clear that the explosion was partly due to the fact that the tank was not well made. Even early on, local people knew that it was flawed. The bolts at the bottom of the tank were not sealed firmly, so molasses often oozed out. This suited Bostonians well. They would bring jars and bowls to collect the slow-flowing sweet leakage to use at home.
What Happened in Boston
A combination of factors led to the disaster. The haste with which the tank was built was part of the problem, but the steel available then was not the quality we have now. It was thinner and brittle. There was no “give” to the material.
Almost one hundred years later, scientists worked with a group of students. They all wanted to know why the tank had exploded.
As they conducted tests, the group concluded that when the newly delivered warmer molasses was pumped into the tank and mixed with the molasses that had been stored in a tank subject to a Boston winter, the new molasses accelerated the fermentation process. This produced excess carbon dioxide gas, which caused the explosion.
Happened at a Terrible Time of Day
After several very cold days, the morning of January 15 began to warm up. People in offices were delighted to step out at lunch time to enjoy sunshine and slightly warmer temperatures. Unfortunately, the explosion happened at that time.
People nearby said it sounded like a train hurtling past. The wall of molasses was described as an eight-foot-high wave of molasses, pushing its way rapidly down the streets at about 35 miles per hour. People, dogs, horses, mules, wagons, and carriages were all ensnared by it. The power of the molasses even pushed over the support beams for the elevated train line.
First Responders
The first to arrive on the scene to help were 116 cadets from a training ship in the harbor. The sight that awaited the young men was a ghastly one. The sign of a survivor was often a thrashing mass of “something” trying to get out of the syrup. Once the men spotted those who needed help, they had great difficulty getting to them because everything was so sticky.
Rescuers searched for four days until they were certain nothing could still be living. In all, 21 people died, 150 people were injured, and dozens of horses and dogs were killed in the flood.
The cleanup itself took weeks. The substance was so sticky that it was difficult to remove. When curious visitors arrived to view the scene, they made things worse. They stepped in and around it, tracking the syrup to new areas.
The harbor stayed brown for another eight months.
The Scene Today
Today the site of the disaster is a recreational complex with two parks and a Little League field. A plaque about disaster is placed outside one of the parks, and when the tour guides on Boston’s Old Town Trolley come through the area, they often refer to it as the “Boston Molassacre.”
Some say that on a very warm day, you can still detect the odor of molasses.
On the website of the National Conference of State Legislatures, there is an interesting article about how the disaster inspired engineering safety: “Sticky Situation–Sticky Situation—How the Boston Molasses Flood Spurred Engineering Safety.”
To view a video about what happened, click to here: The Boston Molasses Disaster
A weather-related disaster is described in “The Schoolhouse Blizzard.“
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