Endangered species unhurt in Hawaii molasses spill

[Judi Lynn]

Endangered species unhurt in Hawaii molasses spill
By OSKAR GARCIA, Associated Press | September 18, 2013 | Updated: September 18, 2013 7:36pm

HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii state official in charge of cleaning up the spill of 1,400 tons of molasses in Honolulu Harbor says no endangered species have been hurt in the accident.

Dr. Keith Kawaoka of the Hawaii Department of Health said Wednesday that no endangered species have been identified among the more than 26,000 dead fish, shellfish and other marine life that have been collected from nearby waters.

Water samples tested from different points in the harbor and a nearby lagoon have shown improved oxygen levels, while the water also looks visually better from flyover surveys, said Kawaoka, chief of the department's Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response Office.

~snip~
Kawaoka said the greatest concentration of discolored water is near a Honolulu Airport runway made of coral and in ocean waters near a boathouse in a nearby lagoon.

http://www.chron.com/news/science/article/Endangered-species-unhurt-in-Hawaii-molasses-spill-4825863.php

(Why would anyone build a runway using coral?)

[msongs]

1. the reef runway is a huge thing made of landfill and coral to accomodate jumbo jets nt

[unhappycamper]

2. This reminds me of the Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Molasses_Flood



~snip~

At about 12:30 in the afternoon near Keany Square,[3] at 529 Commercial Street, a molasses tank 50 ft (15 m) tall, 90 ft (27 m) in diameter and containing as much as 2,300,000 US gal (8,700 m3) collapsed. Witnesses stated that as it collapsed, there was a loud rumbling sound, like a machine gun as the rivets shot out of the tank, and that the ground shook as if a train were passing by.[4]

The collapse unleashed a wave of molasses between 8 and 15 ft (2.5 and 4.5 m) high, moving at 35 mph (56 km/h), and exerting a pressure of 2 ton/ft² (200 kPa).[5] The molasses wave was of sufficient force to damage the girders of the adjacent Boston Elevated Railway's Atlantic Avenue structure and tip a railroad car momentarily off the tracks. Author Stephen Puleo describes how nearby buildings were swept off their foundations and crushed. Several blocks were flooded to a depth of 2 to 3 feet (60 to 90 cm). Puleo quotes a Boston Post report:


Pics can be found at the BPL web site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/sets/72157624622085789/