CYSE 205 - Tragically Engineered Systems - Fall 2017 PDF

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Edwin Hyatt III Professor Gebril CYSE 205 - 001 September 23, 2017 Cleveland East Ohio Gas Explosion Disaster The Cleveland East Ohio Gas Explosion was an event that occurred on Friday, October 20, 1944 in Cleveland, Ohio. It was originally constructed in 1902 and known as the “East Ohio Gas Company Plant.” The plant contributed to administering natural gas to the citizens of Cleveland, Ohio. According to Joe Skonce of the Cleveland Historical, he described the changes that the plant was going through as time passed. He said, “By 1940, part of the plant was converted to a liquefaction, storage, and regasification facility, which was one of the most modern gas plants in the country, safely storing large quantities of liquefied gas in four separate holding tanks (Skonce).” Because of the way that the plant was being implemented, residents felt like all the safety regulations were all being met and did not have any concerns of any catastrophic event that could potentially ensue. Unfortunately, they were wrong. There was a danger that was about to wreak havoc on the citizens of Cleveland, Ohio. Tanks filled with liquefied natural gas were stored inside the plant so that more natural gas could be stored. This was incredibly perilous because liquefied natural gas is toxic and it performs its destructive work once it is vaporized. The East Ohio Gas Company Plant was not to be spared from this process taking place. William Tyrell explains that on October 20, 1944, “laboratory workers at the East Ohio Gas Company spotted white vapour coming out of above-ground storage tank number 4, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tank at the gas company’s Lake Erie tank

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farm. Gas was flowing from the tank and wind from Lake Erie began to push the vapours towards the city sewer system…Jets of fire burst from the underground sewer as manhole covers were launched into the air, some landing several miles away. There were reports of homes being burned to the ground in seconds (Tyrell).” The results of this explosion were devastating. The plant exploded because there was a leakage of liquefied natural gas from one of the tanks. The entire city turned into a massive firestorm that destroyed many homes and businesses because the temperature of the LNG rose after it went above its storage temperature. The Cleveland Fire Department had difficulty putting out the flames, but after hours of fighting the flames, firefighters were finally able to contain the conflagration. In total, 130 people lost their lives, 215 people were injured and the economic impact caused by this tragic event was more than $10 million, which is roughly $172 million dollars today. Since that time, innovative and safer methods have been implemented to store gas and prevent this sort of tragedy from ever happening again. If I was in charge of the East Ohio Gas Company Plant, I would have not have allowed liquefied natural gas inside the plant. It is toxic and would pose as a hazard to the residents who lived near the plant as well as the metropolitan region of Cleveland. I also would have probably created an emergency evacuation plan for residents in case something life-threatening occurred. I would have had better tanks that were “leaf-proof,” if that’s even possible. I would put every procedural step in place as necessary in order to prevent any leakage of natural gas from happening. I would have had a ton of safety regulations and a cap on the amount of natural gas allowed in the plant. This would help contribute to the minimization of a natural gas leak and create more space in the plant if any other work needed to be done.

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Works Cited Page 1. Skonce, Joe. “The East Ohio Gas Company Explosion.” Cleveland Historical , clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/748. 2. Tyrell, William. “Engineering Disasters: Cleveland East Ohio Gas Explosion (1944).” Engineeringclicks.com , 24 Oct. 2016, www.engineeringclicks.com/cleveland-east-ohio-gas-explosion-1944/....