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In January 1919 a huge storage tank in Boston burst and released about 8.7 million litres of molasses. The wave, around eight metres high, swept through the streets at about 56 km/h and killed 21 people.

Boston, 15 January 1919

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The story behind the card

Molasses is the thick, dark syrup left over from making sugar, and this tank in Boston's North End stored it for turning into industrial alcohol. The tank had leaked so badly that it was painted brown to hide the stains, and local people collected the drips. When it burst, the wave knocked buildings off their foundations and drove steel from the tank into the girders of the elevated railway. Molasses runs faster when it is under pressure, then it thickened in the cold January air, trapping people and making rescue slow. After three years of hearings the company was found responsible and paid $628,000 in damages, and building rules were tightened to require checks by licensed engineers and architects. Residents said the area smelled of molasses on hot days for decades.

Türkçe oku
Ocak 1919'da Boston'da dev bir depolama tankı patladı ve yaklaşık 8,7 milyon litre melas sokaklara yayıldı. Sekiz metreye yakın yükseklikteki melas dalgası saatte 56 km kadar hızla ilerledi ve 21 kişinin ölümüne yol açtı.
Boston, 15 Ocak 1919

Melas, şeker üretiminden geriye kalan koyu kıvamlı, esmer bir şuruptur; Boston'un North End semtindeki bu tankta endüstriyel alkol yapımında kullanılmak üzere depolanıyordu. Tank öyle çok sızdırıyordu ki lekeler görünmesin diye kahverengiye boyanmıştı; mahalleli de sızan melası toplayıp evine götürüyordu. Tank patlayınca dalga binaları temelinden oynattı ve tankın çelik parçalarını havai demiryolunun kirişlerine savurdu. Melas basınç altında daha akışkan olur; ama sonra ocak ayının soğuğunda koyulaştı, insanları içine hapsetti ve kurtarma çalışmalarını yavaşlattı. Üç yıl süren duruşmaların ardından şirket sorumlu bulundu ve 628.000 dolar tazminat ödedi; yapı kuralları da ruhsatlı mühendis ve mimar denetimini zorunlu kılacak biçimde sıkılaştırıldı. Mahalle sakinleri, sıcak günlerde bölgenin onlarca yıl melas koktuğunu anlattı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Great Molasses Flood
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