Remembering two workplace disasters, Imperial Sugar and Thiokol, that changed communities

Adam Van Brimmer, Savannah Morning News
·2 min read
Thiokol workers search through the rubble of building M132 at the Thiokol Chemical plant in Woodbine, Georgia, following an explosion that killed 30 people on Feb. 3, 1971.
Thiokol workers search through the rubble of building M132 at the Thiokol Chemical plant in Woodbine, Georgia, following an explosion that killed 30 people on Feb. 3, 1971.

Fifteen years ago today, Savannahians learned that sugar dust could kill.

A series of dust-related explosions at the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth killed 14 workers, injured 40 others and leveled part of the plant, a local landmark dating to 1916. The tragedy is one that will never be forgotten in Savannah.

Another workplace disaster recently passed a dark anniversary. Friday, Feb. 3 marked 52 years since a fire and explosion killed 29 at the Thiokol munitions plan in Woodbine, located 80 miles south of Savannah in Camden County. The accident occurred in a building where workers assembled trip flares, which were employed by the U.S. military in the Vietnam War, which was raging at the time.

Among the 29 victims were 19 Black women, who had only recently entered the local workforce beyond farming, housekeeping and school-teaching duties as manufacturing facilities such as Thiokol integrated. On Friday, local residents, including some who worked at Thiokol or whose parents, aunts, uncles and siblings did, held a remembrance event.

Listen: Tripwire — A narrative podcast investigating the 1971 Thiokol plant explosion in Georgia

The story behind the Thiokol disaster is sad yet fascinating, and Savannah Morning News journalists Nancy Guan, Zach Dennis and Richard Burkhart are telling it through a multimedia project entitled “Tripwire.” Guan employs audio storytelling tools with multiple episodes. An introduction to the Thiokol disaster and the people and community impacted published last week and is available for listens at SavannahNow.com. There are words, images and video available, too.

Future episodes will go deeper into the accident and its legacy.

As you take a moment to think about the Imperial Sugar tragedy today, make a note to listen and learn about this other piece of Coastal Georgia history.

Sugar refinery's future: U.S. Sugar to purchase Imperial Sugar, upgrades planned

A destroyed truck and school bus sit amongst the rubble of building M132 at the Thiokol Chemical plant in Woodbine, Georgia, on Feb. 3, 1971. The explosion killed 30 people and injured several others.
A destroyed truck and school bus sit amongst the rubble of building M132 at the Thiokol Chemical plant in Woodbine, Georgia, on Feb. 3, 1971. The explosion killed 30 people and injured several others.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Anniversary of workplace accidents at Imperial Sugar Thiokol munitions