MicroFactzzz#0088 · ☠️ Dark Facts
A shipment of fertilizer led to one of the worst industrial disasters in US history
In 1947, a fire aboard a ship loaded with ammonium nitrate in the port of Texas City triggered an explosion that destroyed most of the port and killed hundreds of people.
On April 16, 1947, in the port of Texas City, Texas, a fire broke out aboard the SS Grandcamp, loaded with tons of ammonium nitrate (an ingredient in both fertilizer and explosives) — the crew tried to put it out with steam instead of water, fearing damage to the cargo.
That decision likely only sped up the disaster — the ship exploded with a force comparable to a small atomic bomb, sending out a shockwave that flattened a large part of the port and nearby industrial plants.
The explosion killed several hundred people, including nearly the entire local fire department, which had been fighting the fire on board at the moment of the blast — and the shockwave triggered secondary fires and another explosion on a similar nearby ship the following day.
The significance: the Texas City disaster led to some of the first landmark lawsuits over US government liability for industrial disasters, and to significantly tighter regulations on the transport and storage of chemical materials.
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