Engineering Disasters 13

The History Channel's "Engineering Disasters 13", like others in the series, details spectacular technological and engineering failures, some of which are quite well known and some of which aren't. This edition reports on The World Trade Center 7 building collapse, the chemical nightmare at Love Canal New York, the tragic Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire in Boston, software issues in both the Patriot Missile system and ESA's Ariane 5 rocket, and the failure of explosive demolition to destroy a Providence Rhode Island public housing project (twice).Of these features the most compelling and comprehensive are the collapse of World Trade Center 7 approximately seven hours after it was damaged by falling debris and fire following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The collapse is obviously overshadowed by the greater tragedy of the day, but I find the structural issues involved in the WTC 7 collapse to be more interesting from an engineering failure mode perspective than the earlier WTC destruction. The DVD also shows state of the art improvements made to the new WTC 7 building, the first of the towers to be rebuilt.Equally interesting was the Love Canal chemical waste disaster created by the Hooker Chemical Company, and the illnesses and aftereffects it left in its wake. The program discusses the fledgling EPA and the creation of the "Superfund" as well as future redevelopment of the area, which seems potentially unwise, particularly in the opinions of original Love Canal residents. This is an excellent recap of the hazards of improper chemical waste disposal, and of course laws are much stricter than when Hooker owned the property.The Cocoanut Grove fire is also very well detailed, and the flammability and fire propagation illustrations are very well done, as are the explanations of basic fire escape and emergency exit designs. The discussion of the unsuitability of inward-opening emergency exits and revolving doors as emergency egress paths seems obvious, but clearly wasn't in 1942.The discussions of missile guidance software and the Providence public housing demolition were modestly interesting, but not as thorough or as interesting as the other cases discussed.On balance, this is a good edition of "Engineering Disasters". While it isn't my favorite in the series, I recommend it without reservations to people interested in safety disciplines, or people who simply find technological accidents fascinating.

Good

"Engineering Disasters 13" reviews five different engineering disasters - causes and consequences.1)Building 7, WTC: It caught on fire and collapsed 7 hours after the South Tower. Experts theorize that insulation may have been knocked off beams from the shock of tower pieces impact. Fortunately, everyone had been evacuated, and there were no injuries. Its replacement building will have 5X the required fireproofing and 20% wider stairs.2)Love Canal: Hooker Chemical Co. poured toxic waste into the short canal for 10+ years, beginning in 1942. The canal was then filled in, and used as a new school's playground. New area residents became aware of the problem in 1977 (wet year) when chemicals began oozing out throughout the area. Eventually the school and about 500 homes were demolished, and the area covered with a waterproof cover. About $250 million has been spent to date cleaning up the site.3)Coconut Grove: A deadly fire raced through the Boston club November 28, 1942 when about 1,000 people were packed into a former two-story storage area without sprinklers. The fire began in the basement (cigarette lit too close to a synthetic tree), and exits were either locked, inward opening, or a small revolving door that quickly jammed. The synthetic materials are believed to have created a poisonous gas that left many sitting as though they were still alive.4)Patriot Missile Software Error: Patriot missiles were deployed in Gulf I to protect Saudi Arabia, Israel, and American soldiers in the area. The Patriot missiles had been designed to shoot down aircraft - faster missile targets led to an unanticipated rounding error that prevented the Patriot radars from tracking the much faster missiles. Unfortunately, the last one fired then exploded amongst a group of American soldiers.5)Providence Public Housing Demolition: May 1989 was the date that Providence, R.I. was to demolish a large former public housing building. The first implosion effort rattled the building but did little else. Engineers decided the problem was that the building was being supported by iron staircases at each end. Thus, a second attempt focused on those staircases. This time the building sank about ten feet, and then the sections leaned over into each other and remained largely upright. The job had to be completed with a wrecking ball.