Blast in West, TX

[LCHIEN]

Sort of lost in the news this week was a massive blast of a fertilizer plant that killed 14 and injured hundreds in West, TX At least 10 first responder volunteer firefighters and police were killed outright.

Nearby homes and businesses were flattened for blocks around.

TO show what a horrific blast it was, just imagine the forces that could do this damage to the railroad tracks -the blast pushed the tracks sideways until they squeezed together:

[cabinetman]

That's pretty incredible.

.

[Stytooner]

Looks like it ripped the rail right through the spikes. They are still there. Wow!
My Dad used to haul that stuff in a tanker from Mobile to points around South. I rode with him a few times. Man! That is some bad stuff. It will flat take your breath away in an instant. That is just a small diluted whiff of it.
I'm glad he retired from that job. If I see a tanker of it on the highway, I make sure I get past it rather than hang back. Never know when a leak can happen.

[phrog]

Unbelievable power in that stuff. No wonder terrorists use it for bombs. Do you live anywhere near there. I don't know where Katy is.

[LCHIEN]

Unbelievable power in that stuff. No wonder terrorists use it for bombs. Do you live anywhere near there. I don't know where Katy is.

Its 200 miles north of me, past Waco. Katy is a suburb on the west side of Houston.

It occurred near the anniversary of the April 16, 1947 Texas City disaster, the largest industrial accident in US History. Two ship carrying 3300 tons of Ammonium nitrate fertilizer blew up after one of them caught fire. 567 people were known dead or missing, it widely believed there were up to 200 more (transients, immigrant workers, visiting seamen, tourists whose presence was unknown). of the known dead 113 of them were not found and believed disintegrated or incinerated. 5000 were injured. The 2-ton anchor of one of the ships was found 1.6 miles away in a 10-foot crater. The other five-ton anchor was hurled 800 yards to a place where it rests today at the entrance to the Texas City dike. One of the ships's propellers was found a mile inland. I consider that amazing since the propeller was under water at the time of the explosion. Texas City is about 30 miles southeast of Houston on the way to Galveston.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_Disaster

[greenacres2]

Thanks for that Loring. Ten folks who were doing things like eating dinner or playing catch with their kids dropped what they were doing to answer that call--and never went back home. They don't get paid, don't get a day off, they just do it because it's got to be done.

So, the story of the Heroes got passed up so there could be constant coverage for a couple of guys who did a bad thing to get attention. More press wouldn't ease the pain of their families or their colleagues--but it would have been a nice tribute.

earl

[chopnhack]

In my area it received decent coverage, not necessarily 'round the clock mind you, but it was known. The photo of the railroad track is new to me. Quite tragic. One would never realize how much power is in nh4no3.