(
Satellite, one of the many craters in the streets caused by the explosions.)
Fortunately, it happened at 5:15am and no one was killed and only four were injured.
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Rachael Healy posted
Charlie Cox: Tylenol leak from storage tanks overfill ignited by car with dragging exhaust pipe running over a man hole on Hill Street. Becky Shultz: Does anyone remember the smell emitted by the dog food plant?? It was awful. [I skipped this comment until I learned it was actually hexane from a Ralston-Purina soybean processing plant.] That was the route we took to school each morning. Luckily, we were running late that morning. 😬 |
Several comments on Rachael's post implied that it was Hill Street that blew up. (Later, I learned that multiple streets and 13 miles of sewers blew up.) Why would Google Maps identify an alley instead of the real Hill Street?
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reddit, also courier journal gallery, photo by Bill Luster
Aftermath of the 1981 Louisville Sewer Explosions, an industrial accident that destroyed several blocks of city streets and 13 miles of sewer pipelines [990x1320]
calebs_dad: Ralston-Purina ran a factory near Louisville, Kentucky that used the industrial solvent hexane to extract oil from soybean mash. In February 1981, the hexane recycling system broke down, causing it to overflow into a containment basin, and eventually into the city sewers. Hexane evaporates easily, and the explosive gas quickly filled the sewer system. A spark from a car set off massive explosions that destroyed blocks of Hill Street downtown, leaving craters as deep as 38 feet. Manhole covers blew off and even residential bathrooms exploded. Amazingly, no serious injuries were reported, but the damage took over a year to repair. Ralston-Purina eventually paid over $26 million in damages to the city and private parties. On the other hand, the factory was rebuilt with $2 million in municipal bonds. [It happened at 5:15am in Feb 1981 on Friday the 13th.] |
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whas11
"It would take more than a year to fix the sewer lines and even longer to repair the streets...The Ralston-Purina Plant was demolished in 2014 after paying out millions of dollars to residents, MSD, the city and government agencies." The spillage was estimated to be 18,000 gallons of hexane. |
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courier-journal, by Jebb Harris / CJ, from a gallery of many photos
"Workers did repair work on Hill Street between 10th and 11th streets yesterday. Two women were injured when the car in the foreground was tossed during the explosions. Feb. 15, 1981" |
"The blasts travelled through the sewer lines, sending manhole covers flying, converting streets into craters and trenches, and sending fountains of sewage up through the streets or straight up through the destroyed toilets of area residents. Two miles of sewer lines were blown to bits, thousands of people lost access to both sewer and water, and much of Hill Street collapsed into the hole left by the 12-foot sewer main." [
VancouverIsAwesome]
Ralston-Purina started processing soybeans in 1930. By 1960 ,it had nine soybean crushing plants. "In 1958 Ralston started its first plant making soy protein isolates, in Louisville, Kentucky; only industrial-grade isolates, used mostly for paper coatings, were produced. The production of food-grade isolates was started in 1960." [
soyinfocenter]
I spent some time trying to find the plant with Steet View and Google Earth, but I had to give up. I'd think a plant with silos would have been easier to find.
Rachael Healy
posted 14 photos with the comment: "Sewer blast."
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Roger Dale Burden: This car belonged to a friend that I worked with at American Standard Funny thing is he had just bought it a week before this happened, |
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