The Boston Molasses Disaster, 1919

The Boston Molasses Disaster occurred on Wednesday, January 15, 1919, in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts.

A large storage tank filled with 2.3 million U.S. gallons (8,700 cubic metres) of molasses, weighing approximately 13,000 short tons (12,000 metric tons), burst, causing a wave of molasses to rush through the streets.

According to reports, the resulting wave of molasses was 5 to 12 metres high and some 50 metres wide.

Travelling at approximately 56 km per hour, it destroyed several city blocks, levelling buildings and damaging automobiles. Although help arrived quickly, the hardening molasses made rescue efforts difficult. In the end, 21 people were killed, many of whom were suffocated by the syrup, and approximately 150 were injured. The financial impact of damage equated to $100m in today’s terms.

Investigation Finding Focus

After a three-year trial, the distilling company was found liable for the accident. Findings included poor design and construction and informal protocols and processes for maintenance or inspections.

One positive from the incident was that it resulted in stricter design and construction codes being adopted across the USA and a focus on Maintenance Management.

ICAM Australia The Boston Molasses Disaster, 1919

Key Lessons

The effectiveness of maintenance management systems is critical to ensure the integrity of the equipment that we use and involves planning, resourcing and type of maintenance.

The investigation found that this was not the first time that the tank had released molasses, with many leaks in the past and the records stating that the company actually changed the colour of the tank from blue to brown-red in the years prior to the incident to cover the fact that it continually leaked. If the inspections and maintenance management had been effective, the vulnerabilities would have been identified and possibly rectified.

The resources from our ICAM Training provide information on what the vulnerabilities in this Organisational Factor (OFT) can cause and what these vulnerabilities can lead to. So what can we do from a practical sense to proactively or reactively address the ICAM Organisational Factor Type of ‘Maintenance Management’? Check the information below and identify what you can do to proactively correct or reverse the vulnerabilities if they resonate with what is going on in your organisation.

OFT CODE - MM (Maintenance Management):

The appropriateness of the management of the maintenance system involves planning, resourcing and type of maintenance rather than the execution of maintenance jobs. Poor practices involving procedures, tools and training are covered elsewhere.