Global InformationTradeston Flour Mills explosion information
 Drawing of the aftermath of the Tradeston Flour Mills explosion in the Illustrated London News on 20 July 1872 | |
  Tradeston Flour Mills | |
| Date | 9 July 1872 |
|---|---|
| Location | Tradeston, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Coordinates | 55°51′16″N 04°15′38″W / 55.85444°N 4.26056°W |
| Cause | dust explosion |
| Casualties | |
| 18 dead | |
| 16+ injured | |
On 9 July 1872 the Tradeston Flour Mills, in Glasgow, Scotland, exploded.[1][2] Eighteen people died,[3] and at least sixteen were injured.[1][4] An investigation suggested that the explosion was caused by the grain feed to a pair of millstones stopping, causing them to rub against each other, resulting in a spark or fire igniting the grain dust in the air. That fire was then drawn by a fan into an "exhaust box" designed to collect grain dust, which then ignited, causing a second explosion which destroyed the building. At the time, there were general concerns about similar incidents worldwide, so the incident and investigation were widely reported across the world.
- ^ a b "Fearful Explosion and Great Fire in Tradeston - Great Loss of Life". The Glasgow Herald. 10 July 1872 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ John K. McDowall (1899). The People's History of Glasgow. Hay Nisbet & Co.
- ^ "The Explosion and Fire in Tradeston". The Glasgow Herald. 12 July 1872 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Price, David J.; Brown, Harold H. (1922). Dust Explosions. National Fire Protection Association, Boston, Mass.