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1973 Staten Island gas explosion...



Item # 720801

February 11, 1973

THE NEWS AND OBSERVER, Raleigh, N.C, Feb. 11, 1973

* 1973 Staten Island gas explosion
* Texas Eastern Transmission Pipeline
* Liquefied natural gas tank disaster


Near the bottom of the front page is a three column heading: "43 Are Feared Dead In N. Y. Tank Blast" with related photo. (see images)
Complete with all 80+ pages, a few binding holes along the spine, generally nice.

AI notes: The 1973 Staten Island gas explosion, which occurred on February 10, stands as the deadliest industrial accident in the borough’s history, claiming 40 lives. The disaster took place at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tank operated by Texas Eastern Transmission Pipeline in the Bloomfield neighborhood. During a routine cleaning operation, 42 workers entered a 600,000-barrel tank that had supposedly been emptied ten months earlier, but residual natural gas ignited unexpectedly, producing a catastrophic flash fire. The force of the explosion was so immense that it lifted the concrete dome of the tank 20 to 30 feet into the air before it collapsed, killing nearly all inside; only two workers near the top survived. Rescue efforts were hampered by debris, and it took 12 days to recover all the victims. The tragedy prompted major reevaluations of LNG safety protocols, including collaboration between NASA and the New York Fire Commissioner to develop enhanced safety guidelines, and it led to a moratorium on new LNG facility construction in New York, leaving a lasting legacy on industrial safety standards and local opposition to further LNG projects.

Category: The 20th Century