1983 Newark explosion

1983 Newark explosion
Time 12:15 am EST
Date January 8, 1983
Location Newark, New Jersey, United States
Deaths 1 dead
Non-fatal injuries approx. 22-24 injured

At 12:15 am on Saturday, January 8, 1983 the city of Newark, New Jersey had an explosion that destroyed several Texaco oil tanks. The incident is known to have killed one person and injured 24 others. It was notable as it was felt more than 100 miles (160 kilometres) away from the epicenter. People felt the blast as far away as White Plains, New York and Southport, Connecticut.[1] Flames shot up to 1,000 feet (300 metres) into the air as 3,000,000 US gallons (11,000,000 litres; 2,500,000 imperial gallons) of fuel spilled out.[2] Analysis of the disaster indicated "human error" in the 'tank farm' that contained 40 farms and 3,142 tanks.[3] The estimated temperature close to the disaster was somewhere around 2,000 degrees Celsius (3,630 degrees Fahrenheit).[4] Damage was extensive in the immediate vicinity where windows were shattered and several freight cars were destroyed. Many people throughout the New York metropolitan area were awoken from the night time blast. Some thought the explosion happened close to their home. In the aftermath, traffic on the nearby New Jersey Turnpike was snarled by onlookers near the site of the blast.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Newark blast is heard for miles". January 8, 1983. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  2. ↑ "3 MILLION GALLONS OF GASOLINE BURN AFTER TANK EXPLOSION IN NEWARK". January 8, 1983. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  3. ↑ "HUMAN ERROR BLAMED IN NEWARK TANK FARM BLAST". March 4, 1983. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Newark, NJ Storage Tank Explosion, Dec 1983". gendisasters.com. Retrieved August 16, 2015.

Coordinates: 40°42′48″N 74°7′40″W / 40.71333°N 74.12778°W / 40.71333; -74.12778

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/25/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.