Microsoft Word - Hazmat History_Texas City Disaster

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NationalHazardousMaterialsFusionCenter|HazmatHistory

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 TheTexasCityDisaster

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HAZMAT HISTORY

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TheNationalHazardousMaterialsFusionCenteroffersHazmatHistoryasanavenueforresponders

tolearnfromthepastandapplythoselessonslearnedtofutureincidentsforamoresuccessful

outcome.ThiscoincideswiththeoverarchingmissionoftheFusionCenter–toimprovehazmat

respondersafetyandenhance

thedecision‐makingprocessduringpre‐planningandmitigationof

hazmatincidents.

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Insert

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TexasCity,TX April16,1947

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AmmoniumNitrateFertilizer

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CargoShip

Themorningof16April1947dawnedclearandcrisp,cooledbyabrisknorthwind.Justbefore8am,

longshoremenremovedthehatchcoversonHold4oftheFrenchLibertyshipGrandcampasthey

preparedtoloadtheremainderofaconsignmentofammoniumnitratefertilizer.Some

2,086mt

(2,300t)werealreadyonboard,798(880)ofwhichwereinthelowerpartofHold4.Theremainder

oftheship'scargoconsistedoflargeballsofsisaltwine,peanuts,drillingequipment,tobacco,

cotton,andafewcasesofsmallammunition.Nospecialsafetyprecautionswerein

focusatthe

time.

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Severallongshoremendescendedintotheholdandwaitedforthefirstpalletsholdingthe45kg(100

lb)packagestobehoistedfromdockside.Soonthereafter,someonesmelledsmoke,aplumewas

observedrisingbetweenthecargoholdsandtheship’shull,apparentlyaboutsevenoreight

layers

ofsacksdown.Neithera3.8L(1gal)jugofdrinkingwaternorthecontentsoftwofireextinguishers

suppliedbycrewmembersseemedtodomuchgood.Asthefirecontinuedtogrow,someone

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NationalHazardousMaterials

FusionCent er

The Texas City Disaster

IncidentDetails:

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Overview

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LocationandDate

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HazardousMaterial

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Involved

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Type(modeoftransportation,fixedfacility)

2

NationalHazardousMaterials

FusionCenter

HazmatHistory

NationalHazardousMaterialsFusionCenter|HazmatHistoryTheTexasCit yDisaste r

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loweredafirehose,butthewaterwasnotturnedon.Sincetheareawasfillingfastwithsmoke,the

longshoremenwereorderedoutofthehold.

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WhileLeonardBoswell,thegangforeman,andPeterSuderman,superintendentofstevedores,

discussedwhatactiontotake,themaster,orcaptain,of

theGrandcampappearedandstatedin

intelligibleEnglishthathedidnotwanttoputoutthefirewithwaterbecauseitwouldruinthe

cargo.Instead,heelectedtosuppresstheflamesbyhavingthehatchesbattenedandcoveredwith

tarpaulins,theventilatorsclosed,andthesteamsystemturnedon.

Atthemasters’request,

stevedoresstartedremovingcasesofsmallarmsammunitionfromHold5asaprecautionary

measure.Asthefiregrew,theincreasedheatforcedthestevedoresandsomecrewmembersto

leavetheship.TheGrandcamp'swhistlesoundedanalarmthatwasquicklyechoedbythesiren

of

theTexasCityTerminalRailwayCompany.Despiteastrikebythetelephoneworkers,Suderman,

seriouslyconcernedbynow,managedtoreachtheFireDepartmentandthencalledGalvestonfora

fireboat.

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Itwasnowabout8:30.Atthispoint,growingpressurefromthecompressedsteamfedintoHold4

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blewoffthehatchcovers,andathickcolumnoforangesmokebillowedintothemorningsky.

Attractedbyitsunusualcolorandthesirens,severalhundredonlookersbegangatheringafew

hundredfeetawayattheheadoftheship.Twenty‐sixmenandthefourtrucksofthe

VolunteerFire

Department,followedbytheRepublicOilRefiningCompanyfire‐fightingteam,arrivedonthescene

andsetuptheirhoses.Aphotographtakenatapproximately8:45showsatleastonestreamplaying

onthedeckoftheGrandcamp,whichwasapparentlyhotenoughtovaporizethewat er.

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Around

9:00,flameseruptedfromtheopenhatch,withsmokevariouslydescribedas"aprettygold,

yellowcolor"oras"orangesmokeinthemorningsunlight...beautifultosee."Twelveminuteslater,

theGrandcampdisintegratedinaprodigiousexplosionheardasfaras241km(150mi)distant.A

hugemushroomlikecloud

billowedmorethan610m(2,oooft)intothemorningair,theshockwave

knockingtwolightplanesflyingoverheadoutofthesky.Athickcurtainofsteelshardsscythed

throughworkersalongthedocksandacrowdofcuriousonlookerswhohadgatheredattheheadof

theslip

atwhichtheshipwasmoored.Blastoverpressureandheatdisintegratedthebodiesofthe

firefightersandship'screwstillonboard.AttheMonsantoplant,locatedacrosstheslip,145of450

shiftworkersperished.Afourandahalfmeter(fifteenfoot)waveofwaterthrustfromthe

slipby

theforceoftheblastsweptalargesteelbargeashoreandcarrieddeadandinjuredpersonsback

intotheturningbasinasitreceded.FragmentsoftheGrandcamp,someweighingseveraltons,

showereddownthroughouttheportandtownforseveralminutes,extendingtherangeofcasualties

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andpropertydamagewellintothebusinessdistrict,aboutamileaway.Fallingshrapnelbombarded

buildingsandoilstoragetanksatnearbyrefineries,rippingopenpipesandtanksofflammable

liquidsandstartingnumerousfires.Aftertheshrapnel,flamingballsofsisalandcottonfromthe

ship’scargofellout

ofthesky,addingtothegrowingconflagration.

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Thesheerpoweroftheexplosionandthetoweringcloudofblacksmokebillowingintotheskytold

everyonewithinthirty‐twokilometers(twentymiles)thatsomethingterriblehadhappened.People

onthestreetinGalvestonwerethrowntothepavement,andglass

storefrontsshattered.Buildings

swayedinBaytowntwenty‐fourkilometers(fifteenmiles)tothenorth.Thetoweringsmokecolumn

servedasagrimbeaconformotoristsdrivingalongtheHouston‐Galvestonhighway,someofwhom

immediatelyturnedtowardTexasCitytohelp.InTexasCityitself,stunnedtownspeoplewhostarted

towardthedockssoonencounteredwoundedpersonsstaggeringoutoftheswirlingvortexofsmoke

3

NationalHazardousMaterials

FusionCenter

HazmatHistory

NationalHazardousMaterialsFusionCenter|HazmatHistoryTheTexasCit yDisaste r



andflame,mostcoveredwithathickcoatofblack,oilywater.Manyagonizinghoursweretopass

beforeasemblanceoforderbegantoreplacetheshockandconfusioncausedbythistotally

unexpectedanddevastatingevent.

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Thehorrorwasnotoveryet.AshelppouredintoTexasCity,

noonegavemuchthoughttoanother

Libertyshiptiedupintheadjoiningslip.TheHighFlyerwasloadedwithsulfuraswellasathousand

tonsofammoniumnitratefertilizer.TheforceoftheGrandcamp'sexplosionhadtorntheHighFlyer

fromitsmooringsandcauseditto

driftacrosstheslip,whereitlodgedagainstanothervessel,the

WilsonB.Keene.TheHighFlyerwasseverelydamaged,butmanyofitscrewmembers,although

injured,remainedonboardforaboutanhouruntilthethick,oilysmokeandsulfurfumesdrifting

acrossthewaterfrontforcedthemasterto

abandonship.Muchlaterintheafternoon,twomen

lookingforcasualtiesboardedtheHighFlyerandnoticedflamescomingfromoneoftheholds.

Althoughtheyreportedthistosomeoneatthewaterfront,severalmorehourspassedbefore

anyoneunderstoodthesignificanceofthissituationandnotuntil11:00

pmdidtugsmannedby

volunteersarrivefromGalvestontopulltheburningshipawayfromthedocks.Eventhougha

boardingpartycuttheanchorchain,thetugswereunabletoextracttheshipfromtheslip.By1:00

amonApril17th,flameswereshootingoutofthehold.

Thetugsretrievedtheboarders,severed

towlines,andmovedquicklyoutoftheslip.Tenminuteslater,theHighFlyerexplodedinablast

witnessesthoughtevenmorepowerfulthanthatoftheGrandcamp.Althoughcasualtieswerelight

becauserescuepersonnelhadevacuatedthedockarea,theblastcompounded

alreadysevere

propertydamage.Inwhatwitnessesdescribedassomethingresemblingafireworksdisplay,

incandescentchunksofsteelwhichhadbeentheshiparchedhighintothenightskyandfellovera

wideradius,startingnumerousfires.Crudeoiltanksburstintoflames,andachainreactionspread

firesto

otherstructurespreviouslyspareddamage.Whendawnarrived,largecolumnsofthick,black

smokewerevisiblethirtymilesaway.ThesecloudshoveredoverTexasCityfordaysuntilthefires

graduallyburnedoutorwereextinguishedbywearyfire‐fightingcrews.



Althoughtodayammoniumnitrateismorereadilyknownnotjustasafertilizerandexplosive

compound,butasaweaponofmassdestruction.AftertheOklahomaCityBombing,firstresponders

havebeentrainingonthethreatsassociatedwithammoniumnitratefueloil(ANFO)andthe

devastationitiscapableof.

However,weneedtorememberthat ammoniumnitrateisacommon

fertilizertransported,storedandusedacrossthecountryandwhenusedinappropriatelyormixedor

evenstoredwiththewrongchemicalsorcompoundsitcanbedisastrous.

• Alwaystreatanyscenewithammoniumnitrate,oranyotherexplosive

compound,asjust

that,anexplosivedevice.



• FirstrespondersdonothavetheappropriatePPEtoprotectourselvesfromanyenergetic

material.



• Thebestcourseofactionistoevacuatetheareaandisolatethesceneandcallforhelp.



• AreviewoftheEmergencyResponse

GuideBook(ERG)willhelpguideyoutomakingthe

appropriatedecisions.Inanincidentlikethisone,theERGsaystoevacuatea½mileforarail



LessonsLearned/SmartPractices

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4

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NationalHazardousMaterials

FusionCenter

HazmatHistory

NationalHazardousMaterialsFusionCenter|HazmatHistoryTheTexasCit yDisaste r

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