“Oh the thick black smoke
Burns your eyes and makes you choke
The fire burning and no way to escape
Praying to God all for their sake…”
Remember how many times someone sniffs something near your kitchen and asks you. “Is the gas leaking?”
The typical smell or odour of gas is now so familiar that it has become one of the most important safety measures ever to be implemented! But though the odorisation was advised as early as in 1880’s it finally came into practice only after a big bang of tragic proportions!
Read on…
Historically, first gas odorization was carried out in Germany in 1880’s by Von Quaglio who used ethyl mercaptan for detecting gas leakages of blue water gases but it was not widely practiced till much later.
Starting with the year 1807 when Pall-Mall in London was experimentally illuminated, the beginnings of gas industry in the European countries were exclusively associated with town gas. This gas, produced by carbonization of coal, contained mainly hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Besides other components, gas produced from coal contained a wide range of sulfur compounds which made it easily detectable in case of leaks and lent it the typical “gassy odor”.
Later on the commonly used gas was the Natural Gas. Now, Natural gas is an odorless and colorless flammable gas.
Now the big disaster which happened in The New London, Texas. Here the economy was boosted in 1930 through an oil find in Rusk County. As a result, the London School was built in 1932 at the cost of 1 million dollars and was considered a modern steel-framed building!
In 1937, the New London, Texas, school board decided to cut costs by dropping their contract with the United Gas Company. With approval from the superintendent, plumbers tapped a residue gas line from a local oil company to use green or wet gas. The oil companies typically would flare off this waste gas. However, utilizing the waste gas became a common money-saving practice for buildings on the oilfield at that time, although the oil companies did not explicitly authorize its use.
The odorless and undetectable natural gas leaked from the residue line’s connection and made its way into the crawlspace, which ran the school’s length. The gas built up until there was a spark igniting the gas. The explosion left behind a collapsed building, with as many as 295 deaths!
That was a big wake up call all across to do the mandatory Odorization of the gas and even now the same or similar compound is used which is ethyl mercaptan. The role of this substance in saving possible explosions and lives cannot be measured.
Unfortunately some explosions can still occur like the one which happened today. Heartfelt condolences to the ones who lost their lives. With the help of firefighters, doctors, medical personnels and many others; many lives were saved.
We need more people like them who can make sure these accidents are limited and prevented. Like Elattuvalapil Sreedharan, the Metro Man who has made Kerala fast and safe.
Praying for the poor souls…
Shubh Ratri
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