The tank was completed in time to be "leak tested" before its first delivery of molasses on December 31. Leak testing, in this case, meant "filling" the tank with 6 inches of water, noting no leaks, and declaring it ready for service. The tank leaked molasses from day one. - ThreadSky

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mbenfinney.bsky.social • 66 days ago

The tank was completed in time to be "leak tested" before its first delivery of molasses on December 31. Leak testing, in this case, meant "filling" the tank with 6 inches of water, noting no leaks, and declaring it ready for service.
The tank leaked molasses from day one.

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mbenfinney.bsky.social•66 days ago

The tank (1) was located in a working class Irish and Italian neighborhood, 200 ft from Boston Harbor. It was next to Commercial Street, a fire station (2), and a section of elevated train tracks.

mbenfinney.bsky.social•66 days ago

From 1916 through 1918, the tank was filled frequently. Many people note the groaning and rumbling sounds after it was filled. Despite frequent caulking, the tank leaked all the time. Neighborhood children would collect and eat the molasses that gathered in puddles at the base (a 3-ft concrete pad).

mbenfinney.bsky.social•65 days ago

Isaac Gonzales, a worker at the tank and pump house, brought concerns to Hell several times. Gonzales was so concerned about the tank that he would visit it in the middle of the night to drain molasses into the harbor.

In 1918 alone, the tank was filled above the 2 million gallon mark 7 times.

mbenfinney.bsky.social•65 days ago

Jell, tired of the frequent leak complaints, ordered the tank to be painted brown in August of 1918. Upon hearing this, Gonzales quit and enlisted in the Army.

mbenfinney.bsky.social•65 days ago

In November of 1918, World War 1 ended. With that, the demand for munitions (and the alcohol needed to make them) dropped off dramatically. Also, Prohibition was about to be ratified into the US Constitution, but there would be a one-year grace period.

mbenfinney.bsky.social•65 days ago

Jell figured USIA could distill a large amount of grain alcohol in early 1919 and push it out to liquor producers before the ban took effect. So, he arranged for 600,000 gallons of molasses to be added to the tank on January 13, 1919. This will fill the tank to 2.3 million gallons of molasses.

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