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 SSWilson B. Keene, destroyed in the disaster's second explosion | |
| Date | 16 April 1947; 78 years ago (16 April 1947) |
|---|---|
| Time | 9:12 am (CST) |
| Location | Texas City, Texas, United States |
| Coordinates | 29°22′39″N94°53′29″W / 29.37750°N 94.89139°W /29.37750; -94.89139 |
| Type | Ammonium nitrate explosion |
| Deaths | 581 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 5000 |
TheTexas City disaster was an industrial accident that occurred on April 16, 1947, in theport ofTexas City, Texas, United States, located inGalveston Bay. It was the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history and one of history'slargest non-nuclear explosions.
The explosion was triggered by a mid-morning fire on board the French-registered vessel SSGrandcamp (docked at port), which detonated her cargo of about 2,300 tons (about 2,100metric tons) ofammonium nitrate.[1] This started achain reaction of fires and explosions aboard other ships and in nearbyoil-storage facilities, ultimately killing at least 581 people, including all but one member of Texas City'svolunteer fire department.[2]: 100
The disaster drew the firstclass action lawsuit against theUnited States government, on behalf of 8,485 plaintiffs, under the 1946Federal Tort Claims Act.
ThePort of Texas City is located in a protected harbor inland fromGalveston, with relatively straight access to theGulf of Mexico.[2]: 6 The port expanded greatly during World War II, as many wartime chemical and oil plants were located in or near the city. In 1946, some 4,000 ships loaded or unloaded cargo in the port.[2]: 9 The growth of the town caused a housing shortage, and housing for Black and Hispanic residents was located close to the port.[2]: 10 The nearest neighborhood was only .5 miles (0.80 km) away from the site of the explosion.[2]: 11 Within 1 mile (1.6 km) there were six major chemical or oil companies, nine piers, eleven warehouses, a grain elevator, and many homes.[2]: 12
While oil and chemicals had been the major export, the port also began shippingammonium nitrate in 1945.[2]: 15 The ammonium nitrate, needed either as fertilizer or anexplosive, was manufactured inNebraska andIowa and shipped to Texas City by rail before being loaded onto ships.[3] The dedicatedTexas City Terminal Railway providedfinal mile service directly to the port.[2]: 11 Export of ammonium nitrate increased significantly in the postwar years as ammunition manufacturing was converted into fertilizer manufacturing, to be sent for export to rebuild war-torn Europe.[2]: 20
SSGrandcamp was a recently re-activated 437-foot-long (133 m)Liberty ship. Originally named SSBenjamin R. Curtis inLos Angeles in 1942, the ship served in thePacific theater and wasmothballed in Philadelphia after the war.[4] In aCold War gesture, the ship was assigned by the U.S. to theFrench Line to assist in the rebuilding of France, along with other efforts in Europe. Accordingly, she was captained by a French crew led by Captain Charles de Guillebon. Along with the ammonium nitrate—a very common cargo on the high seas—she was carrying small-armsammunition, machinery, and bales ofsisaltwine on the deck.[2]: 19 Her engine was undergoing repairs while docked and thus the ship was inoperable.[2]: 32
Another ship in the harbor, SSHigh Flyer, was docked about 600 feet (200 m) away fromGrandcamp. The ammonium nitrate aboard the two ships, andfertilizer in an adjacent warehouse, were intended for export to farmers in Europe.Grandcamp had arrived fromHouston, where theport authority did not permit the loading of ammonium nitrate.
Grandcamp had a mixed cargo, containing chiefly ammonium nitrate, but also twine, peanuts, tobacco, some small arms ammunition, engineering equipment, and cotton.[2]: 1 The ammonium nitrate was manufactured in a patented process, mixed withclay,petrolatum,rosin andparaffin wax to avoid moisture caking. It was packaged in 100 pounds (45 kg) paper sacks.[2]: 20 Longshoremen reported the bags were warm to the touch before loading.
High Flyer held an additional 961 short tons (872 t) of ammonium nitrate[1] and 1,800 short tons (1,600 metric tons) ofsulfur.[citation needed]
Grandcamp arrived in port on April 11, 1947, and began loading 2,500 short tons (2,300 t) of fertilizer on April 14, which were to be sent to France.[2]: 19 The storage deck ofGrandcamp was divided into five storage holds, with afuel oil bunker located between Hold 3 and Hold 4. The fertilizer was to be added to Hold 2 and Hold 4. The loading continued until interrupted by rain on the evening of the 15th. Loading was set to continue on the morning of the 16th, with the last 600 short tons (540 t) set to be loaded into the partially full Hold 4.[2]: 19, 35
On Wednesday, April 16, 1947, around 8 a.m., smoke was spotted in the cargo hold ofGrandcamp while it was still moored. Longshoremen used a gallon jug of water and twofire extinguishers, but they had no effect and the cargo hold filled with smoke. The longshoremen were then ordered to leave the hold. At this point, the captain ofGrandcamp ordered that no water be used, lest the cargo be ruined. Instead, he ordered all hatches sealed and the hold to be filled with steam in an attempt to smother the fire.[2]: 2 This was unlikely to be effective, as ammonium nitrate is an oxidizer, thus neutralizing the extinguishing properties of steam. The steam may have contributed to the fire by converting the ammonium nitrate tonitrous oxide, while augmenting the already intense heat in the ship's hold.[5] Around 8:30 a.m. the stevedores who were fighting the fire were ordered off the ship, likely because the heat had become too intense and there were concerns that the small arms ammunition could cook off.[2]: 31
While the port had fire hydrants, it lacked its own fire engines. A call for outside help was sent at 8:37.[2]: 31 Responding fire departments included the Texas Cityvolunteer fire department and theRepublic Oil Refining Company firefighting team.[2]: 2 As crews fought the fire, the hatch on Hold 4 blew off from the pressure of the steam. A column of yellow-orange smoke billowed out, the typical color fornitrogen dioxide fumes.[1] The fire and its unusual-looking smoke attracted a crowd of about 500 spectators (including many children) along the shoreline, who believed they were at a safe distance.[6] Around 9:00, the fire abated slightly, but the steam suppression system was still actively heating Hold 4. Most of the crew had disembarked the ship, and Captain Guillebon was taking a headcount on the pier.[2]: 34
At 9:12 a.m., the ammonium nitrate reached an explosive threshold and theGrandcampdetonated. The exact cause is unknown, but the likeliest explanation is that the heat of the fire caused the fuel oil bunker adjacent to Hold 4 to split, pouring fuel onto the hot, decomposing fertilizer, creating an impromptuANFO mixture that was susceptible to detonation.[2]: 35 TheGrandcamp was entirely obliterated. The resulting explosion caused utter destruction within 2,000 feet (610 m) and extreme damage throughout the port. The tremendous blast produced a 15 ft (4.6 m)tsunami and ashockwave, levelling nearly 1,000 buildings on land.[2]: 3 The tsunami was responsible for a significant portion of onlooker deaths.[2]: 37
Flyingshrapnel resulted in ignition of refineries and chemical tanks along the waterfront. Falling bales of burning twine fromGrandcamp's cargo added to the damage, and heranchor was hurled across the city. Two sightseeing airplanes flying nearby were blown out of the sky,[7] while 8 miles (13 km) away, half of the windows inGalveston were shattered.[8] The explosion blew almost 6,350 short tons (5,760 t) of the ship'ssteel into the air, some atsupersonic speed.
TheMonsanto Chemical Company plant adjacent to the slip whereGrandcamp was docked suffered the brunt of the first explosion. Of its 574 employees and contractors, 234 were killed, and 200 more were injured. Every man of the Monsanto fire fighting team, which were laying hose reels opposite theGrandcamp, was killed.[2]: 37–38
The exact damage caused by the first explosion is not fully ascertainable, as the second explosion wreaked further havoc and came before a survey of the damage could be done.[2]: 38
Seven ruptured oil tanks at the Republic Refinery began to burn, letting off thick clouds of black smoke.[2]: 39 Burning sulfur in a dockside warehouse created acrid fumes.[2]: 40
Official casualty estimates came to a total of 567, including all the crewmen who remained aboardGrandcamp. All but one member of the 28-man Texas City volunteer fire department were killed in the initial explosion on the docks while fighting the shipboard fire. With fires raging throughout Texas City, first responders from other areas were initially unable to reach the site of the disaster.
Still, 112 people within 500 ft (150 m) of theGrandcamp survived, including many witnesses who would allow for later reconstruction of the events.[2]: 37–38
The first explosion had setHighflyer free from its moorings, and it had drifted across the harbor, coming to rest against SSWilson B. Keene. Her crew stayed aboard for an hour before the smoke of the burning oil and sulfur forced them to leave. In the afternoon, two men boardedHighflyer searching for injured crewmembers. They noted that her cargo was ablaze and reported it to someone on the harborfront. This message seems to have gone unheeded for several hours until it was realized that this indicated a serious problem. Only around 11 p.m. didtugboats attempt to pullHighflyer away from the docks. Despite having cut her anchor, they were unable to move her. They fled the area around 1 a.m. the next day (April 17). Ten minutes later, at 1:10 a.m.,Highflyer exploded, killing two more people. According to witnesses, the explosion was more powerful than that ofGrandcamp. Casualties were light since the docks had already been evacuated, but the second explosion exacerbated the damage to nearby ships and buildings. The blast destroyed the nearbyWilson B. Keene. The steel frame ofHighflyer had been heated until glowing, and these chunks rained down upon Texas City setting mass fires.[2]: 4–5, 40–41 One of thepropellers was blown off and subsequently found nearly a mile inland. It is now in a memorial park near the anchor ofGrandcamp.
The Texas City disaster is generally considered the worstindustrial accident in U.S. history. Witnesses compared the scene to the fairly recent images of the 1943air raid on Bari and the much larger devastation after anatomic bomb was dropped atNagasaki.
Of the dead, 405 were identified and 63 have never been identified. The latter remains were placed in a memorial cemetery in the north part of Texas City near Moses Lake. An additional 113 people were classified asmissing, for no identifiable parts were ever found. This figure includes firefighters who were aboardGrandcamp when she exploded. There is some speculation that there were hundreds more killed but uncounted, including visiting seamen, undocumented laborers and their families, and an untold number of travelers. More than 800 people were left orphaned or widowed.[2]: 6 However, there were also some survivors among people as close as 70 feet (21 m) from the dock. The victims' bodies quickly filled the localmorgue. Several bodies were laid out in the local high school's gymnasium for identification by family or friends.
More than 5,000 people were injured, with 1,784 admitted to 21 area hospitals. More than 500 homes were destroyed and hundreds damaged, leaving 2,000 homeless. The seaport was destroyed, and many businesses were flattened or burned. Over 1,100 vehicles were damaged and 362 freight cars were obliterated; the property damage was estimated at $100 million[3] (equivalent to $1,100,000,000 in 2024). This number may not encompass the full scope of damage: a further $500 million of oil products burned (equivalent to $5,499,000,000 in 2024).
A 2-short-ton (1.8-metric-ton) anchor ofGrandcamp was hurled 1.62 miles (2.61 km) and found in a 10-foot (3 m) crater. It was installed at a memorial park. The other main 5-short-ton (4.5-metric-ton) anchor was hurled1⁄2 mile (800 m) to the entrance of the Texas City Dike. It rests on a "Texas-shaped" memorial at the entrance. Burning wreckage ignited everything within miles, including dozens of oil and chemical tanks. The nearby city of Galveston was covered with an oily fog that left deposits over every exposed outdoor surface.
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Some of the deaths and damage in Texas City were due to the destruction and subsequent burning of several chemical plants (including Monsanto andUnion Carbide), oil storage, and other facilities near the explosions. Twenty-seven of the twenty-eight members of Texas City's volunteer fire department and three of four members of the Texas City Heights Volunteer Fire Department who were on the docks near the burning ship were killed. One firefighter, Fred Dowdy, who had not responded to the initial call, coordinated other firefighters arriving from communities up to 60 miles (100 km) away. Alvin Fussell, sole survivor of the Heights Volunteer firefighters, was driving to work inAlvin when he heard of the fire on the radio. Eventually 200 firefighters arrived from as far away asLos Angeles. Fires resulting from the cataclysmic events were still burning a week after the disaster, and the process of body recovery took nearly a month. All fourfire engines of Texas City were twisted and burned husks.
The cause of the initial fire on boardGrandcamp was never determined. It may have been started by a cigarette discarded the previous day, meaning the ship's cargo had been smoldering throughout the night when the fire was discovered on the morning of the explosion.[1] Historian Hugh Stephens later identified human error as the cause, and cites numerous reasons as to why a minor fire became such a severe incident.[2]: 6
Stephens identifies as root causes the expansion of the port, the proximity of dangerous port operations to the rest of Texas City, a lack of community awareness of the danger posed by chemical hazards, and a lack of safety preparation.
Smoking was commonplace at the time. While officially prohibited at the port, such prohibitions were not enforced and smoking was widespread.[2]: 28–29
Stephens notes that in interviews and written accounts, few residents of Texas City seemed to understand the danger of the port, as exemplified by the large crowd that assembled to watch theGrandcamp burn. Stephens suggests that in an era before disasters likeBhopal (1984), orSuperfund legislation (1986), the sense of danger from chemicals was amorphous. "Before the accident, Texas City's citizens felt secure because such a disaster had never happened and they could therefore assume it never would."[2]: 13 Stephens also points out that Texas City was a boomtown in a time when the rest of the country was still recovering from theGreat Depression, in which most of the city owed its prosperity to the oil and chemical industry, which may have further led to lax attitudes.[2]: 14
The danger of ammonium nitrate may not have been well known at the time. While Army manuals classified it as a high explosive, general belief (and even guidance from the Department of Agriculture) held that fertilizer was not dangerous under typical conditions.[2]: 21–22 However, the danger was not unknown. ThePort of Houston had forbidden the loading of fertilizer in 1946.[2]: 24
In the months before the disaster, local Catholic priestWilliam F. Roach remarked on the concerning industrial conditions by stating "I feel like I’m sitting on a keg of dynamite."[9]
Neither the Port of Texas City, theTexas City Terminal Railway, the City itself, nor any of the oil refineries, had a disaster preparedness plan—which even at the time was regarded as inadequate.[2]: 13–14 The Port itself had noPort authority that could regulate both land and sea operations. Thus, safety was fragmented between companies and between land and sea. The end of military supervision at the end of the war also played a role. Safety authority should have transferred from the military back to theUnited States Coast Guard, but the Coast Guard failed to take preventative actions and safety instead returned to the hands of private parties.[2]: 16–17 Texas City also failed to police or regulate the dock; such matters were left to security hired by the Terminal Railway.[2]: 27
The disaster received national media attention, with offers of assistance coming from around the country. Several funds were established to handle donations, particularly the Texas City Relief Fund, created by the city's mayor Curtis Trahan.[2]: 104–105 One of the largest fundraising efforts for the city and the victims of the disaster was organized bySam Maceo, one of the two brothers whoran organized crime in Galveston at the time. Maceo organized a large-scale benefit on the island, featuring entertainers includingPhil Harris,Frank Sinatra, andAnn Sheridan.[2]: 104–105 [10] In the end, the Texas City Relief Fund raised more than $1 million ($15 million in today's terms). Payouts for fire insurance claims reached nearly $4 million ($55.7 million in today's terms).[2]: 104–105
Within days of the disaster, major companies that had lost facilities in the explosions announced plans to rebuild in Texas City and in some cases to expand their operations. Some companies implemented policies of retaining all of the hourly workers who had previously worked at destroyed facilities with plans to use them in the rebuilding. Cost estimates of the industrial reconstruction were estimated at approximately $100 million ($1.41 billion adjusted for inflation).[2]: 104–105
"Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the explosion [...], just as the Phoenix bird symbolizes resurrection from the ashes of despair, the 'Phoenix Fountain' epitomizes courage and the triumph of the human spirit. [...]Chewelah, Washington ArtistDavid Govedare was commissioned by Mayor Charles T. Doyle [...] [to] produce this twelve foot sculpture from half inchcor-ten steel. Architect Joseph Allen Hoover and City Engineer James McWhorter designed the fountain built by Texas City's Public Works Department."[11]
Many of the legal cases seeking compensation were combined intoElizabeth Dalehite, et al. v. United States, under the recently enactedFederal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). On April 13, 1950, the district court found theUnited States government responsible for a litany of negligent acts of omission and commission by 168 named agencies and their representatives, in the manufacture, packaging, and labeling of ammonium nitrate. This was further compounded by errors in transport, storage, loading, fire prevention, and fire suppression, all of which led to the explosions and the subsequent carnage.
On June 10, 1952, theU.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned this decision, finding that the United States maintained the right to exercise its own "discretion" in vital national matters. TheU.S. Supreme Court affirmed that decision (346 U.S. 15, June 8, 1953), in a 4-to-3 opinion, noting that the district court had no jurisdiction under the federal statute to find the government liable for "negligent planning decisions" which were properly delegated to various departments and agencies. In short, the FTCA clearly exempts "failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function or duty", and the court found that all of the alleged acts in this case were discretionary in nature.[12]
In its dissent, the three justices argued that, under the FTCA, "Congress has defined the tort liability of the government as analogous to that of a private person", i.e., when carrying out duties unrelated to governing. In this case, "a policy adopted in the exercise of an immune discretion was carried out carelessly by those in charge of detail", and that a private person would certainly be held liable for such acts. A private person is held to a higher standard of care when carrying out "inherently dangerous" acts such as transportation and storage of explosives.
According toMelvin Belli in his bookReady for the Plaintiff! (1965), Congress acted to provide some compensation after the courts refused to do so.[13] TheDalehite decision was eventually "appealed" to Congress, where relief was granted by means of legislation (Public Law 378, 69 Stat. 707 (1955)).[14] When the last claim had been processed in 1957, 1,394 awards totaling nearly $17 million had been made.
