User:Eggishorn/sandbox/O'Connor Plating

The O'Connor Plating Works disaster was an industrial accident that occurred on February 20, 1947. Mishandling of perchloric acid led to an explosion that killed seventeen people and injured hundreds more when a plastic rack used for electroplating was lowered into a vat of overheated acid.

O'Connor Electro-Plating Works
The O'Connor Electro-Plating Works was located at 926 East Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles, California

Electroplating process modifications
The explosion was caused by the improper handling of perchloric acid, which the plant was using as an experimental method for polishing aluminum.

Explosion
large accidental explosion at in Los Angeles killed seventeen people and injured more than one hundred.Eleven nearby buildings were damaged beyond repair. Press reports mentioned a twenty-five-foot crater.

On the day of the accident, the cooling unit required to store perchloric acid safely was not working. A vessel of 130 gallons of the chemical was boiling and may have ignited when a plastic rack was lowered into it.

Economic justice issues
Like many cities in the United States prior to the Civil Rights era, real estate choices in Los Angeles were often limited by the use of restrictive covenants. These covenants prevented some properties from being sold to African-Americans] and other minorities and together with other forms of racial discrimination created ghettos of majority African-American residential neighborhoods. O'Connor Electro-Plating was located in such a neighborhood and the loss of life was felt heavily by this community.

Aftermath
Dick Lane, a Los Angeles television announcer, was working for the experimental television station W6XYZ located nearby and quickly began broadcasting from the disaster site. Two days later, the station was licensed for commercial operation as KTLA-TV.

In popular culture
The event served as the main inspiration for "Nicholson Electroplating", a fictional case featured in the 2011 video game L.A. Noire as downloadable content.