| Inferno in Guadalajara | |
|---|---|
 Inferno in Guadalajara | |
| Vital statistics | |
| Series | Seconds from Disaster |
| Title | Inferno in Guadalajara |
| Airdate | August 24, 2004 |
| Disaster | Guadalajara Gas Explosions |
| Date | April 22, 1992 |
| Kind | Explosion |
| Nature | Metal-to-Metal Corrosion, Sewer Gas Leak |
| Fatalities | 206 |
Inferno in Guadalajara is the 8th episode of Seconds from Disaster and remakes the true cause of the gas explosion.
Plot[]
Days after residents of Guadalajara complained of a foul smell, a series of gasoline-fueled explosions in the sewers kills 206 people.
Cause[]
- New water pipes, made of zinc-coated iron, were built too close to an existing steel gasoline pipeline. The underground humidity caused these materials to create an electrolytic reaction, this reaction is akin to that which occurs inside a zinc-carbon battery, as the reaction proceeded it eventually caused the steel gasoline pipe to corrode, creating a hole in the pipeline that permitted gasoline to leak into the ground and into the main sewer pipe.
- The sewer pipe had been recently rebuilt into a U-shape so that the city could expand their underground railway system. Usually sewers are built in a slope so that gravity helps move waste along. In order to get the U-shape to work, an inverted siphon was placed so that fluids could be pushed against gravity. The design was flawed, however. While liquids were successfully pumped through, gases were not, and gasoline fumes would build up.
- A torn electric cable created a spark, igniting the gas cocktail, creating multiple explosions.
