The Great Molasses Flood
—Chrissie

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            Almost from its founding, Boston was involved in the production of molasses and, by distilling it, rum. In January 1919, this staple industry inadvertently caused the destruction of part of the city. Purity Distilling had a storage facility in Boston’s North End where it stored molasses before it was moved to a nearby factory which fermented it to produce ethanol. Around 12:30 pm on 15 January 1919, one of those tanks exploded violently, releasing approximately two million gallons of molasses in a wave that was reported to have reached 25 feet high and travelled 35 miles per hour. It destroyed everything in its path with all of the power of water but with 40% more density.

Within minutes, the wave had destroyed part of the elevated train system, moved buildings off of their foundations, and swept away anyone unlucky enough to be in front of it. Rescuers came quickly from the local police and fire departments, as well as the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. However, fewer firefighters showed up than were expected because one of the buildings that had been destroyed was the local firehouse; at least one man was killed as that building partially collapsed.

            The initial wave dissipated relatively quickly, but the cleanup lasted months.  It was first hindered by the viscosity of molasses and the stickiness that made it difficult to clean away and also difficult to move debris and recover people from damaged buildings. The solution presented itself in the form of saltwater, which was sprayed using firehoses to clean as much as possible, but it was weeks before people thought the area was no longer sticky. Twenty-one people were killed in the accident, many of whom were not found and/or identified for months because they had been swept into Boston Harbor. 150 people were injured, and many horses and pets were lost in the disaster.

            The company that owned Purity Distilling, United States Industrial Alcohol Company (USIA), initially blamed an anarchist for the collapsed container, claiming a person had been seen dropping a bomb into an air vent. While such terrorism was not unusual in the era (World War I had been, after all, sparked by an anarchist’s bomb), the idea was laughable to anyone who lived in the area and knew anything about the company’s practices. The storage tank in question had been installed just four years previously and was known to have been poorly constructed and maintained. It was not unusual for people to collect molasses for their own use from the cracks formed around the rivets. Having been informed that the tank was leaking, the company did not repair the cracks but instead painted the structure brown so as to make the leaks less visible. Investigations at the time and later indicated that the steel plating was only half as thick as it should have been, and was also cheaply made and therefore brittle. The structure had been built under the leadership of the plant manager, who had no experience in construction or engineering. And, because it was classified as a storage space and not a building which people would occupy, no permits were needed. This lack of regulation, poor construction, and neglect of maintenance came together with an unusually warm January day to produce this disaster.

            On the previous day, new, warmer, molasses had been added to the tank, which warmed what was already there. This coincided with an unusually fast increase in temperature, from 2°F to 40°F over the course of the day.  As the molasses warmed, it expanded and put pressure on the seals and already-leaking rivets, causing the explosion. The unexpected weather did not absolve the United States Industrial Alcohol Company of responsibly, three years of hearings ended with a payout of $628,000 (9.82 million in 2021 dollars) in damages, including $7000 ($109,000 in 2021 dollars) per death to family members. The disaster also prompted new regulations that required building plans to be overseen by a licensed architect and regularly reviewed by inspectors, as well as reworking zoning so that potentially dangerous industry could not be set up next to residential neighborhoods.